The Acts of the Bold
by hotaru anne
Summary: Amidst Sydney's problems lies another one; a mysterious assasin is after her and will stop at nothing to get her. And the only people who can help her is Agent Vaughn and a mysterious informant...*all chapters are up!!!*
1. Information Highway

Yeah, it's short for a prologue. it's only a phone conversation....oooh...^_~ anyways, r&r!   
  
  
Prologue   
"You there?"   
"Would I be talking to you right now?"   
"Oh…right…what have you got for me?"   
"Hmm…a Boston crème, a cup of iced cappuccino…"   
"No! The information, I mean! Although, that does sound good…"   
"Alright, here's the deet. It appears someone's following your angel."   
"You?"   
"Not me, you lunkhead, your most favoured agent of all."   
"Really?"   
"Don't give me that b.s, Vaughn, I know you're crazy over that agent."   
"I am not, Nads, and get on with it. This is a collect call."   
"Ha ha, I almost forgot. Anyways, it appears some hidden cell guy tracking her every move and frankly, I'm afraid for your new-found friend."   
"You're never afraid, Nads."   
"Fine, I'm nervous about this guy. He's massive. And he's trained to kill."   
"All right, so the guy's a trained assassin. Do you know anything else?"   
"Only how fast I'll die under his massive hands."   
"Uh…let's lay off that topic, shall we?"   
"If you say so, guy."   
"Okay…anyways, keep an eye out for our little problem. Anything else?"   
"Yeah, that you get your agent away from her assigned unit."   
"Why?"   
"Oh…just in case. Keep in touch."   
"Wait a minute here…"   
"Later, Vaughn. Nads out."


	2. Trouble Around the Corner

here we go people, the chapter you've been waiting for. had to patch up errors and stuff. anyways, some people thought the phoebe conversation was confusing on who was talking to who. well, you'll find out after reading the chapter, although it's kind of obvious. ^_~  
  
Chapter One  
  
  
The cell phone rang during a conference in the SD-6 headquarters. Sloane was busy explaining a new situation that had came up within the complex and Sydney Bristow was trying hard to concentrate on what Sloane was saying. But despite her trials, she couldn't help seeing Danny's dead body in the bathroom…  
She blocked it out of her mind.  
"Anyways, we need to tighten security---"  
Whatever, she thought, trying hard to control her own thoughts and emotions. You ordered the death of my fiancée and you're telling us that we should tighten security? Maybe I ought to wipe the floor with your ass…oh, wait until I expose you. Then we'll see who needs tightened security…  
The cell phone then started ringing.  
Everyone glared down at Sydney.  
Sydney blushed, rummaging into her handbag. It was the cell that Agent Vaughn had given her when she had applied as a double agent for the CIA. It appeared to be something important. She activated the text messaging and got a message saying, "Meet me at the park, ASAP." She looked at them and lied, "I have to go. It's something important."  
"But this is important too!" Sloane blubbered in protest.  
Sydney just glared at him.  
He sighed dismissively. "Oh, then go, if it's that important."  
"Thanks." Sydney flashed a quick and tight smile and ran out the conference room.   
  
"Why did you call me?" Sydney demanded as she stood before him in the park. She clipped around in her heels and business suit as she strode out to where he sat, under the tree, on a rather old park bench. Her hair slipped from behind her ear and framed her face. For the moment, her rather angry face.  
"Sit down and I'll explain," he said quietly, looking out at the little kids playing.  
"Vaughn," she said testily, "people might see…"  
He glanced at her. "Now would be a good time, Sydney," he told her wearily.  
She scowled but did as she was told.  
"Listen to me very carefully, Sydney," he said. "I just received some rather urgent information. There's someone tracking your tail. Watching your every move. We don't know how long this person has been doing this or for whatever purpose, but you got to watch your back. This person's…er…massive."  
She raised a brow. "Massive?" she repeated sceptically.  
He gulped. "You know…large."   
She still kept her brow raised. "Can you trust this…information?"  
"It came from one of our best informants in the field, Sydney," he said in a grave voice, silently defending his informant's dignity. She owes me big time, he reminded himself silently. "You can trust the information. It's reliable. You don't even have to double check because this person happens to be good at what they do."  
She raised her hands. "Okay, you don't have to be so touchy."  
Now it was his turn to raise his brow. "I was touchy?"  
"For a moment you were," she pointed out with a shy smile.  
He shrugged, but inside, he was exulting for joy. "Well, I've run this through with my superiors back at the big office," he continued, trying to avoid a heavy sigh. It wasn't easy running anything through his superiors nowadays. "They confirmed what I was suggested to do about this situation." He paused, looking down on the dewy grass and at his shoes.  
"Well?" she prodded anxiously.  
He gulped; she wasn't going to like this at all. "They asked me to ensure that you don't go to the SD-6 headquarters. For the time being," he added faintly, but he could already see the anger spitting through her eyes and the fire smoking out of her ears.  
"What?" she cried. "They can't do that!"  
"Keep your voice down," he ushered her softly yet urgently. "We're in a park, remember?"  
She glowered at him dangerously. "How can you just tell me to do this?" she said, simmering in irritation. "I have a job to do. We have a chance to bring down SD-6 since they're too busy upgrading their security systems and you're telling me to pretend being sick for the time being? I don't care if someone's on my tail…I can deal with it."  
"Not if my information's correct."  
"What else did your so-called informant say?" she asked.  
"Well…they were the one who suggested this."  
"What?! Well, you can tell her to---"  
Vaughn looked around cautiously. "Sydney, keep your voice down," he warned. When she didn't listen, he grabbed her arm to catch her attention. Not harshly, but enough to make her pay attention. "Listen to me, Sydney, I have my informant all over this situation, so just take it easy. We're doing this for your own safety, whether you like it or not." And it was true as he gave her his most sincere look.  
"I don't need protection, Vaughn," she shot back. "You know that."  
"We need you on SD-6's case, though," he countered back with a snag of irritation. "But right now we got a glitch. We don't want you exposed and we certainly don't want you six feet under ground. You have to understand that, Sydney." He sighed. "It's hard enough my informant is out there risking their life for your safety…so be grateful."  
For a moment, they sat in utter silence.   
"I suppose I could use a break," she said begrudgingly.  
Vaughn sighed in relief, sitting back on the bench.  
"What I want to know," she said, "is why you refer to your informant as 'they'."  
Now Vaughn was on the spot and judging by Sydney's glare, she was really pressing for some answers. What was he going to say? He didn't want to lie to her but he sure hell didn't want to uncover his private ear to her. It made him look bad. He sighed inwardly and told her, "Because it's confidential, Sydney. I'm sorry."  
Sydney pouted at him, making him feel horrible.  
Vaughn stood up. "Anyways, I have to go," he told her abruptly. "Just stay put at home and pretend to be sick or something. I'll even stop by sometime to ensure that you aren't driving yourself insane or something." That made Sydney smile and him feel all warm and fuzzy suddenly. He smiled back and said, "I'll see you later."  
Sydney watched him go before moving towards her car.  
  
"I hope you feel better in a few days, Sydney," Sloane said on the other line.  
Sydney tapped her fingers quietly on the table. She was sitting in her living room that evening, talking to her SD-6 boss on a private phone line that was created some while back. She put up her best voice whenever she had a cold and tried to sound weak and frail. Luckily, her boss seemed to have believed her performance.  
"Thanks, sir."  
"No problem." He hung up.  
Sydney sighed and hung up the receiver. Lying and sneaking around seemed to become part of her lifestyle. She just didn't know how important it was to do so. She got up towards the kitchen to pour herself a glass on orange juice. At the corner of her eye stood the tequila bottle, sitting there like it was looking up at her. A sudden remembrance of the kiss between her and Will appeared.  
She violently shook the image away. He's my friend, she insisted as she gulped down on the orange juice. She wondered about the lingering thought for the moment; Will really cared about her. The problem was, she didn't want to be more than friends with him. Besides, how would she be able to manage a relationship with him without telling him who she really was? Bad enough he was on Danny's death case.   
Danny….  
Someone knocked on her door.  
Sydney looked up and walked towards the front door. She looked through the small glass peeping hole to see Will looking around, waiting for Sydney to answer the door. She sighed; talk about people popping up after thinking of them. She unlocked the front security locks and opened the door, brushing her hair aside.   
"Sydney!" Will greet with a warm smile.   
"Will!" she croaked. "What…what a surprise! Um, come in!"  
"You busy?" he asked, pointing out to the table where her schoolwork lay all crumpled up in piles and scattered all over the coffee table. Luckily, Sydney thought with an inward sigh, my schematics and my reports on SD-6 and the CIA aren't all over the table right now.  
"Oh, yeah, yeah," Sydney stammered, brushing her hair back and rubbing her eyes.   
He frowned, his brows burrowing and knitting together on his face. "You okay, Syd?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand gingerly. "You look awfully tired and pale."  
She jerked her hand back suddenly; what was he doing? Nonetheless, she wasn't in the mood to debate. "Yeah, yeah," she stammered again, brushing her hair back, "I don't feel so great anyways. Say, can you come back…oh, let's say…tomorrow?" She narrowed her eyes. "I really need some rest from all the reading and…stuff."  
"Oh, maybe I should take care of you," he offered.  
"No!" she cried, and then said more calmly, "No, it's okay. I'll be fine."  
"You sure?"  
"Yeah, positive."  
He shrugged, beaten. If he figured out the sudden urgency in her voice, he made no impression of it. He rummaged through his thick blonde hair. "Um, okay," he replied, rubbing his chin in thought. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."  
Once Will had come and gone, Sydney allowed herself to drag her way to her bedroom and throw herself onto her bed. She thought about cleaning up the mess on her coffee table, but decided not to. She was too tired to fix and besides, she had more important stuff to think about in her crazy, messed up life as it was.   
Like her and her father's relationship.  
Like her entire CIA/SD-6 situation.  
Like her relationship with Will and with Agent Vaughn.  
Like the assassin on her tail.  
  
The assassin watched a blonde-haired man leave the house where his supposed-target. The man looked disappointed as he walked off, jutting his hands into his pockets. I wonder what he did to deserve that, the assassin thought as the man disappeared from view. Nonetheless, a target is a target. He shrugged and turned away towards the dark valley.  
He opened his cell phone and dialled a number. "Boss," he said, "I got the target."   
Silence.  
"Understood."  
  
what do you think? *insert drum roll* i guess it was obvious that it was vaughn and his informant talking. you're in store for a lot of phone conversations like that in the story. anyways, please R&R and hopefully i'll have chapter 2 up soon. ^_^ 


	3. One Mistake After Another

Yes, yes, chapter two is now up. There's a little confrontation now and I think there may be some protocol errors here and there from the show. I don't know, you guys can just correct me or something, but just don't eat me!!!! Anyways, here we go.  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
He was on the move.  
In the darkness of her secret hideout, she watched through her laptop. A black and white image of the supposed assassin was visual, walking like a troubled man passes the security feed loop. He was a tall man with his dark hair combed back, fiddling with a cigarette in his muscular fingers. She then realized that his fingers had muscles! She leaned over and watched the target carefully.  
"This guy has problems," she commented, reaching out for her cell. She dialled a number.  
Someone picked up on the other line. "Vaughn."  
"It's me."  
"Me who?"  
"Don't give me that," she shot back, brushing her hair back with a bit of annoyance as she watched the screen filled with Sydney's stalker. He was always teasing her like that. "You know who I am. Anyways, yeah, I got our target on my computer screen right now." She clicked on the computer consol to enlarge the picture and sat thoughtfully looking at the backdrop.  
"Where is he?"  
"Hmm…um…it's near your agent's place," she said shakily, "judging by the picture. I mean, hell, I could be wrong. I was never that good with remembering houses here in Los Angeles." She snorted and had a shaky laugh to accompany it. She was nervous about the hi tman that was assigned to Sydney's case, but she didn't want Vaughn to know.  
"What?!" Suddenly she heard a skid from the cell phone, making her blink in slight bewilderment. The next few moments was filled with Agent Vaughn spewing out a colourful array of words that were not known in the English language. She was slightly amused, listening in silence for a few moments before he said breathlessly, "Well?"  
"Well…what?"  
"Aren't you going to do something?"  
"I'd like to…if he wasn't pacing around like a trapped mouse."  
"What do you mean?"  
"He looks worried, this is good," she replied, nodding. "Where the hell are you going?"  
"To…um, Sydney's place."  
Now it was her turn to yelp in surprise. "What?" she cried, nearly slamming the computer on the floor in surprise and sudden irritation. "You know that's against protocol! And we got an assassin here…you're putting both of your lives on the line! Not to mention you know that you aren't supposed to be seen together publicly. I mean, what if one of her friends stumble on you?"  
"I'll be fine, Nads. I know the risks. But I can't just sit back and watch the agent I am handling risk her life under some madman. I'll be fine Nads," he repeated.   
She groaned inwardly. "I hope you're right, Vaughn."  
  
Her alarm clock rang.  
Sydney opened a dreary eye from her soft pillow and looked at the clock. The clock read 6:30 and she didn't feel like getting up. She felt like she was going to fall down again so she slammed it shut and drifted off to sleep again…dreaming…dreaming of the past…and her father was in the centre of them all, looking at her…taunting her….  
The sun was streaming down when she awoke again. She could hear the birds chirping somewhere outside her window as she groaned and tossed over positions. She looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about her faceless dream. She blinked until her eyes could stay wide-awake and looked at the clock. It read almost over 10:35.   
She bolted up in her bed. "Oh my---!!!!"  
Then she stopped; Vaughn told her to take a few days off until the entire assassin crisis was resolved. She sighed, brushing her hair back and plopping onto the bed again. Life was such a pain nowadays.   
No more than a minute passed when the doorbell rang.  
"Oh, for god's sake…" she groaned, grumbling to her feet. She had no time to grab a robe and winded up heading to the door in only a white tank top and some cute jogging pants. Her hair was dishevelled as she nearly tripped over her own shoes, grumbling and cursing as the doorbell rang again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" she shouted.   
She unclasped the door lock and flung it open. "Yeah?"  
"You know, it's dangerous to just open the door without looking to see who it is first," said a familiar voice.  
Sydney blinked and looked again. "Oh, gosh, Vaughn! I'm so sorry!" she croaked once she had realized who the newcomer was. She blushed, brushing her dishevelled hair back at the timing of his arrival. "I just…I just woke up and…yeah, I was sort of cranky so…yeah…" She finally noticed that Vaughn wasn't in a complete business suit.   
"Um…are you going to let me in?" he asked, peeking inside like a child.  
"Oh, yeah, yeah," she stammered, giving way to let him in. As he stepped in, she closed the door behind him and tried to straighten her clothes up. "You're pretty brave…coming here and risking exposure on which you work for," she said as she gestured for the agent to sit on the couch as she rummaged for a hair clip or a band.   
"Yeah, well, it's the least I could do," he told her earnestly. "I mean, with all the things going on, I could at least drop by and make sure…well, that you aren't going insane or something. I could see that you're taking this quite well." He gestured to her clothes, making her blush again. "Well, I did bring some coffee," he continued, holding out a tray of two coffee cups that Sydney hadn't see before.  
"Oh, thank you," she replied, stretching out immediately for a cup.  
"Wow, someone's speedy today," he commented as he watched Sydney sip some coffee.   
"Not my fault," she mumbled as she inhaled the scent of coffee. "It's just one of those days when I need that dosage of caffeine running through my veins. So, any word on when I can go back to kicking SD-6 in the behind?" she asked, putting down the coffee on the table.  
He shook his head. "My informant's a little…preoccupied."  
"Oh? How so?"  
"I don't know," he replied with a wince.   
She glared at him. "Well? How good is that, then?"  
He grimaced. "Don't eat me," he mumbled despite his screwed look.  
She couldn't help laughing. How could she? He looked so adorable whenever he did…that. Why was that? She didn't know---every time she was around him, she felt like she could spill out everything that was bottled up inside of her. Probably because they were both in the CIA and they knew each other pretty well---All of a sudden, she had a flash of Will and Danny in her mind.  
She nearly choked on her coffee.  
Vaughn was by her side immediately as she began coughing violently. He took the cup of coffee away from her shaking hand and placed a hand on her back as she continued to cough. "Geez, Sydney, are you all right?" he asked, patting her back.   
"Erm…yeah…yeah, I think so," she struggled to say.  
"What happened there?" he asked.   
"Oh…just…just choked," she stammered, blotting out the images from her mind. "I just got up and I think my throat's still not thinking properly."  
"Oh," he said, disengaging himself from her much to her inward protests. "Well, just, um, take it easy, that's all." He looked out the window and thought for a moment, lost in thought. Sydney finally caught her composure when he murmured, "I wonder…"  
"Wonder about what?"  
"Oh," he said, blushing, "nothing."  
Before Sydney could breathe another word, the doorbell rang for a second time. She exchanged glances with Vaughn, who had his hand on something underneath his shirt; his gun. He gestured to her quietly to open the door and she would cover up behind him. She nodded as she got up, this time, grabbing a shirt to put on top of her tank top.   
Peering through the glass hole, she saw blonde hair. Will!  
She turned to Vaughn, who was behind her and gestured for him to put his gun away.  
Will rang the bell again.  
Sydney gestured for Vaughn to move back as she unclasped the door lock open. She brushed her hair back as she pulled the door open and smiled as brightly as she could. "Will!" she greeted, acting surprise as much as she could. He turned around and smiled at her, revealing two cups of coffee as well. Things keep getting better and better, isn't it? She wondered to herself. "What---What are you doing here?"  
"Oh, I was passing by a coffee shop on my way to work and thought I'd drop by and give you some coffee," he replied with a smile, holding out the tray of coffee. "I was thinking it might make you feel…better." His expression was lost when he looked inside, the smile disappearing into a look of disapproval. Sydney turned around to see Vaughn standing there, leaning on her couch, sipping on some coffee from the table.  
Sydney laughed nervously. Indeed, she was nervous. The two prominent men in her life (excluding her father, Dixon, etc) were staring each other as though they were ready to attack each other and she was in the middle. Talk about a strange day, she thought. Oh no…Will is going to be asking questions about Vaughn and might even get jealous! And Vaughn…oh, what is he going to do, other than ask questions? She sulked at the thought.   
"Um, Will…um, meet Michael Vaughn, my…my friend from work," she said as brightly as she could, struggling to say something. Will raised brows at her as she continued, "And Vaughn, vice versa."  
Vaughn walked up with an outstretched hand. "Hello," he greeted.  
"Um…hello," Will fumbled, shaking Vaughn's hand.   
Suddenly, Vaughn's cell phone rang. Vaughn turned to Sydney silently and gestured towards the outside deck. Sydney nodded as Vaughn smiled at her and at Will before walking out to the deck, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. Once he was out of earshot and had stepped out on the deck with his cell phone at hand, Will turned to Sydney and grabbed her arm.   
"What is he doing here?" he demanded gruffly.  
"Whoa…whoa…Will!" she said, yanking her arm away from his grip. "He's my friend, Will," she replied thinly. "He was worried about me, just like you, and came over this morning with coffee to check up on me. Is that so bad?" she finished, giving him an innocent look. What will I do to make him believe that we didn't do anything? She wondered.  
He still looked dubious to her.  
She sighed. Boy, was this going to be a long day.  
  
"Vaughn," he said as soon as he stepped foot outside Sydney's apartment. It was hard enough he just had to meet someone from Sydney's personal life, but also that this guy didn't particularly like him. Just by the look, he could tell that he was ready to fight him. Luckily, his cell rang before that guy did anything to him.  
"It's me."  
"Could you stop it with the chill factor?" he asked. "This is not the X-Files or anything."  
"Whatever," she said huffily. "Look, the Big Guy Up There called. He wants you back at headquarters ASAP. Agent Bristow senior just came back with some vital information that the head honcho wants you to look at." She paused. "The boss says it's pretty damn important. So important he doesn't want me to tell you through normal lines. Like he doesn't trust me or something. Doesn't he know that I can swipe that info anyhow?"  
"I don't know," he replied gingerly. "I guess I'm off then. But what about Sydney?"  
"Don't worry, I have that covered," she assured.  
"You sure?"  
"Who are you talking to? Granny Smiths here?"  
Vaughn groaned. Sometimes Nads could be incredibly sarcastic at the worst times. It obviously meant that she was annoyed about the swipe of information. He couldn't blame her; she was aiming to be on top of all information passing in and around the CIA. If something slipped under her nose, she would try harder the next time around. That was what made her probably the best around for undercover work. And he was proud of her.  
"Okay, okay, I'll head back to front. You watch over her."  
"Yes, I'll be her guardian angel. Now go. I got work to do."  
"I'll talk to you later." He then shut off his cell phone and placed it in his pocket once again. The boss must've thought that Sydney's father hit onto a gold mine, otherwise he wouldn't call for him back to Headquarters so quickly. Nads was right; this was big. Nonetheless, he would have to leave Sydney under his informant's good hands.  
Hopefully.  
He re-entered the room to see Sydney and Will talking, right where he left her. They turned around to see him enter, making Vaughn sweat. He was in the spotlight, and he hated that. He tried to look casual and quickly thought of something to say. "Um, that was just a co-worker of mine from work," he said. "I have to get to work. They say it's something important." He looked at Sydney, hoping she'd get the message.   
She got it. "Oh, I see," she replied with a nod. "Well, um, thanks for dropping by, Vaughn."  
"No problem," he said, walking towards the door. He glanced at Will. "Um, nice to meet you," he told him professionally before turning towards Sydney again. "I guess I'll catch you at work then, Sydney." He smiled and left through the door.  
"Nice to meet you," Will said mocking once Vaughn had gone.  
Sydney hit his arm as she stomped off. "Shut up, Will."  
"Not my fault," Will said demurely, looking down on his tray where two cups of coffee were simmering cold. Darn that guy, whoever he is, Will thought begrudgingly. I mean, who the hell does he think he is, hitting on my girl like that? Not that she's my girl yet or anything, but still! Darn this, I should've came earlier. Come to think of it… "I got to go."  
Sydney turned around. "But you just got here!"  
"Yeah, well, I got to get to work too," Will said passively. "Lotsa stuff. The whole deal."  
Sydney raised her brow. He was so giddy to come and now he's in a rush to go? She wondered. What's up with that? Don't tell me he's…no, Will wouldn't be that stupid to do that, now would he? "Okay…if you say so," she said, hardly amused.  
Will mumbled a goodbye and stormed out the door.  
"Okay…" Sydney said, sipping some coffee and trying to think straight.  
  
  
"You have something for me?"  
"Ready to commence phase two."  
"Proceed."  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Sydney was busy finishing a report for school when the telephone rang. She frowned as she reached over towards the telephone and pick up the receiver. Who would be calling me at this time? She wondered. Francine isn't due back from the Bahamas until next week. She set her sick voice as she answered timidly, "Um…hello?"  
"Meet me behind the 24-hour corner shop."  
"Who is this? Will?" she said. "Will, is it you? Stop joking around."  
"Meet me if you want to save your agent friend's life."  
Now Sydney was getting worried. Who was this guy talking about, Dixon or Vaughn? Either way, she was getting a hell lot worried. Who was this person anyways? "Who is this?" she demanded gruffly, her muscles beginning to tense up. "I'm not going anywhere without knowing who the hell I'm going to be meeting up with."  
"It doesn't matter. If you want his life preserved, you'd come…immediately." He hung up.  
Sydney straightened. A hundred different situations began to pop up in her already worried mind. What if this guy was an assassin from the K-Directorie? Or maybe a guy sent from SD-6 to prove her loyalty. Maybe Sloane didn't really believe her after all. Or maybe some idiot from some other far-out organization found out who Sydney was and nabbed Vaughn after her left her place.   
Maybe this was the assassin Vaughn was warning her about.  
But maybe this is someone with information. And maybe this could be that secret undercover informant that Vaughn spoke so highly off. Maybe he had some important information that she had to pass without blowing his cover. Maybe the informant didn't want to scare Vaughn so he went to her instead. But did he have to be so ominous?  
Should I go? She wondered. Or should I not?  
Time was running out.   
Sydney ran towards the door and grabbed her jacket. She turned back for a brief moment at the telephone and where she was sitting previously. Should she follow Vaughn's advice and stay indoors or find out about this suspicious person and hear what he has to say? She stood there, thinking for the briefest of moments.  
Then she turned and opened the door.  
Sorry, Vaughn, she thought as she locked the door to her house.  
  
  
  
I don't know if Sydney would really do that, but it's part of the plot, so yeah...I've been thinking over and over about it. anyways, yeah, chapter three is on its way. 


	4. Startling Revelations

here's the next chapter. sydney may be a little OCC but i had to do that to make this scene sort of "work". anyways, don't forget to R&R and i hope you enjoy it! ^_^  
  
  
Chapter Three  
She was on the move.  
She perked up at her computer screen and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Blast, she thought, did I fall asleep? She cursed out loud for a moment for her vulnerability before focusing her attention of the screen. The surveillance cameras that she set up were catching on for movement near the corner store on the street that Agent Bristow lived on. She saw a woman walk on the street, looking rather conspicuous.  
And she looked rather familiar…  
"Damn," she grunted, "I thought Vaughn told her to stay put!"  
Bristow turned side to side and disappeared into the alleyway beside the corner store.   
"Dammit, you baka-somo!" she shouted to the screen. "You've just made a big mistake!"  
She stood up, gulping dryly. Vaughn was at the Headquarters speaking to the director and his little club of brass hats and there were no other CIA agents in the neighbourhood. She thought, very briefly, about the assassin and the assassin's built. As she had told Vaughn, the man was like the Incredible Hulk and she feared that if she took him on, she might get crushed. And she was pretty damn….fragile.  
But I have a gun and Bristow has her wits. If I don't do something, she argued, then we'd lose a damn good double agent. Vaughn once said she has potential, and that she might be the only person that can bring down SD-6. Not even her father may be able to do what she is capable of doing. And plus, she added sourly, Vaughn will have my head on a silver platter.  
She gulped again.  
She reached out for the table where her belt and her gun sat, just in case of an emergency. She gritted her teeth as she glared at her own gun. She remembered how much her superiors objected someone her age to be holding a gun, but she remembered how Vaughn fought to her the right to carry one in case of a dangerous situation. She owed him that much.  
She attached the gun belt on her waist, grabbed her jacket and left.  
  
The alleyway was dark like any other, but Sydney felt a chill creep down her spine. Maybe I should turn back now, one side told her but the other forced calm. You're a special agent for crying out loud and you're afraid or some silly alleyway? She rolled her eyes, told herself to calm down before continuing to walk down the alleyway.  
It was mostly damp and garbage carts and cans littered the walls. Graffiti covered the brick walls and hardly any sunshine was pouring through. She could barely see beyond a couple of meters without stopping and looking around.   
Suddenly, she felt as though someone was with her.  
She pivoted around on her heel and she saw a figure looming over her. The guy was over six feet tall and was all power. She could tell he had massive strength by the outline of her muscles and her body figure. For a moment, she wondered whether she'd survive a fight with the guy. She couldn't see a face…or much of anything in the dark. But the man was giving her the creeps and he was blocking her exit out of the alleyway.  
"You said I had to meet you here if I wanted my friend's life preserved," she told him coldly. "Now I'm here."  
"Indeed," the man said icily, "you are."  
Suddenly, she crashed down to the wet floors, a burning sensation on her cheek. The son of a bitch punched her! Now someone was definitely going to pay, whether it was dark or not. She was ready to get up and fight the guy in the dark when she heard a click. For any normal person, it could've been any kind of click. But to Sydney, she knew that kind of clicking sound all to well. It was the click when someone was preparing their gun for the kill. To that sound, she gulped timidly. She was so wrong---she should've stayed home, listened to Vaughn's advice.  
God, I'm so sorry! She thought. I'm so sorry for what I'm going to do!  
"Now," the assassin said, "we end this."  
She was ready to attack the unknown person but got confused because she didn't know what happened for the next few moments. She was expecting to hear a bang from the gun, but instead, she heard a thud and a crash. She heard something slide on the damp cement floor and some crushing knocks. To the sound of it, a newcomer had crashed on the assassin, knocking the gun out of his hand and judging by the swift sounds, they were fighting in the dark.   
Sydney suddenly felt like she was the damsel in distress and that made her flush in embarrassment. Sydney's hand darted out, in search for a gun. In the dim outline of the alleyway, she found the outline of the gun, about a meter from her. She was beginning to become accustomed to the darkness, as she crept towards the gun. Her fingers gripped around the gun as she brought it up and turned around.  
She could now see the combatants. The newcomer was a lot shorter than the assassin and was keeping him busy. She found it hard to keep aim due to the darkness and because they were both moving very fast. She gritted her teeth---just stay in one place, will you! Out of anxiety, she did a warning shot, whizzing the two off by fractions.  
"Watch where you shoot that, will you? You nearly blew my head off there," the newcomer croaked sardonically, clearly a woman and clearly younger than Sydney had initially thought. And surprisingly, the girl had a dry sense of humour, even in the middle of a fight. Amazing.   
The newcomer then punched the assassin, knocking him back onto the wall. The newcomer leaped back, ready to attack again. Sydney could not see the figure of the newcomer well because of the place they were in. Darn it, she cursed inwardly. All she could catch was the fact that her saviour wore a black sweatshirt with a matching hood.   
"I'll be back," he said, clearly to Sydney, "this time, without your bodyguard." He then charged towards the farthest end of the alleyway, leaping onto a staircase railing and disappearing onto the rooftop.   
Sydney sighed in exhaustion. The man was not bluffing. She turned to the newcomer, whom she couldn't really see still because of the darkness of the alley. "Um, thank you," she told her, "for jumping in like that. How did you know I was here? Who are you?"  
"You're lucky I came in the nick of time before he blew you into kingdom come," the newcomer said dryly as she struggled to her feet upright. "It doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that I'm a friend. Jumping in at such timing---ah, hell, doesn't matter. It's good to know that I'm still fit." She turned around. "Just listen to what Vaughn says, alright? It would make my job so much easier." She then ran and disappeared out the alley and onto the streets of Los Angeles.  
Sydney was now standing in the alleyway, still holding the gun. She's the informant that Vaughn must confide with! She realized. How else would she had told her to listen to what he had to say? He had told her that his informant was going to take care of the assassin and now Sydney had made things harder for the informant to complete.   
Life just kept getting better and better.  
  
Now it was Vaughn's turn to start shouting.  
"Were you nuts, Sydney?" he cried. "Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile until we get this thing beat? I mean, my informant would never call you by phone, she would've done something a little more creative. She wouldn't expose herself that easily. And now not only did the assassin get away but her cover is blown! It's be twice as knock that guy off your trail now!" He sighed and collapsed on the chair beside her, weary.  
They were both sitting in Vaughn's office, courtesy of Vaughn's nameless informant, who had reported in, under orders. Sydney didn't exactly blame the informant for telling Vaughn, it was partially Sydney's fault. But Vaughn didn't have to be so insensitive about it.   
Vaughn sighed again. "I-I'm sorry," he told her earnestly as he caught Sydney's disapproving gaze. "It's just that…gosh, it's been a really hard day and with this maniac running around trying to target you out of existence…the workload is just too high." He rubbed his eyes. "And amidst all this, I ask myself, 'Where has all the caffeine gone?'"  
Sydney chuckled briefly.  
Vaughn smiled.  
"Anyways, I never told you why I had to leave this morning," he continued, recovering his callousness. "I got a call from my informant. She said that Headquarters just got some very interesting information that your father distributed to us on their laps." He watched her eyes glower icily and her jaw muscles tighten. He sighed; he would never truly understand that burning anger she had for her father. "The Boss called for a meeting. Your father will present it in about thirty minutes."  
"Who's coming?"  
He thought for a brief moment. "Well, you, me, your father, and some person representing the Boss named Valenti," he then said, brushing back his hair wearily and leaning back on the comfortable chair. He looked positively harassed and definitely not looking forward to the meeting. Whatever it was got Vaughn looking all worked up.  
"How about your precious informant?" he asked.  
He yawned. "What about her?" Apparently, he gave up on covering his informant's gender.  
She gave him a look. "Isn't she going to come, figuring that this information might benefit her in protecting me a little more…subtly?" she asked. She was curious; that girl looked pretty intriguing. She didn't even get a good look of her but her voice was something else. It had some sort of strenght…some sort of coolness that Sydney found intriguing.   
"The Director doesn't want her leaving the post," he replied with a twinge of regret. Apparently, the director didn't want her to hear of this information. As much as he protested, the Director gave the excuse that his informant was not even a junior officer. True, she wasn't exactly trained fully in the CIA yet, but that didn't stop her from following everything by the book. She would be terribly disappointed. In fact, Vaughn expected her to be screaming bloody murder when he got home. "So she's not coming."  
"Really?"  
"Really."  
"How much time do I have left to kill before the meeting?" she asked.  
"About an hour," he told her, eyeing her carefully. "About enough time for you to get changed. God, you look like a wreck," he added. A cryptic smile appeared briefly on her lips as he fought to keep his own grin at bay. Balls of steel, Mike, balls of steel, he told himself. He cleared his throat briefly and then told her, "I think you have enough time to get to your place and back---provided you got a car."  
Sydney blinked. "Why, Vaughn, are you saying you'd ride me back?"  
"I suppose I am," he replied, "although I don't think I can drive you---"   
"No problem." She put out her hand and waited for his keys.  
  
Will was in a crappy mood.  
He sat in his desk, paper before him, twiddling with his pencil.  
But nothing was coming out. All he kept thinking about was this "Vaughn" character. Who was he? Where was he from? What was his occupation? How come he never saw him before in all of the years he knew Sydney? Things weren't adding up, especially the part where he suddenly left. He didn't believe that they were just co-workers.  
"Will?"  
He said nothing as he continued to fiddle with his pencil.  
Jenny, his assistant, snatched the pencil out of his hand and looked down at him, hands on her hips. Will blinked, slightly dazed at the sudden, rapid movements. "What is up with you today, Mister?" she demanded, slightly teasing and slightly concerned.   
"Huh?"  
"Lemme guess," she said, taking a seat in front of Will, "it's Sydney."  
"How'd you figure?" he said with a pout.  
Jenny shrugged, a sly smile on her lips. "What can I say, when I'm good, I'm good," she told him with a wink. When she saw his sagged shoulders, she grew more serious. "What's wrong, Will?" She paused, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. "Lemme guess on this one---you caught her with someone else, huh?"  
"Actually," he replied, "I came over to give her some coffee this morning and…well, I saw her with the company of someone else, with coffee in her hand. Someone I have never seen before in my life." He shrugged, wincing at the thought. "I guess it's bugging me pretty bad. Especially since he beat me to giving her some coffee!"  
Jenny winced. "Whoa, that is bad!" she exclaimed. "I feel so sorry for you---you really got it bad."   
"Tell me about it."  
"What's the guy's name?" she asked with a smile.  
"Why do you care?" He swerved around, sulking.  
She got up from the chair and walked around to face him. "Because…is he cute?"  
Will groaned and looked at his assistant. "Does it look like I'm gay?" he demanded.  
Jenny got up, all annoyed now. She huffed and folded her arms angrily. "Geez, who crawled up your ass and got you all bitchy?" she snapped. "You can't blame a girl for being curious." She threw the pencil onto his table, which rolled to the floor. "Go on and brood about the love of your life. Like that's gonna help." She then stalked off.  
"Jenny!"  
But she was gone.  
  
Sydney felt like she was going to die. Beside her sat Vaughn, his stolid figure unwavering as he tried to conceal his boredom. The minutes were ticking away ever so slowly, ever since they had returned from her place. She felt much better now that the muck was off her skin, but she felt increasingly fidgety. She wanted to know what was going on.   
As if he read her thoughts, Vaughn bent over and whispered, "Patience, Syd."  
She gave him a nervous smile. "I'm not impatient."  
"You are hell nervous."  
"I haven't seen my father in a while," she replied briskly, "especially here."  
He squeezed her shoulder gently, something he never done before. It was a startling move from both the giver and the receiver. "Don't worry," he reassured her gently, "you'll do just fine."  
She sighed. "I hope so."  
The door suddenly opened to reveal two other people; Sydney's father and a middle-aged man. The newcomer was a very vigorous-looking figure with such a straight looks that it made Sydney want to cry. He looked like he was dead serious with no sense of life within him, just like some of the agents she worked with within the SD-6. What was even worse was that he was with her father, the father she had barely knew.  
They took a seat, Sydney's father directly in front of her. She executed a curt nod at her father, who stared at her for a brief moment before returning the gesture. She heard Vaughn mutter the briefest of hellos to the thin man as the man took his seat at the head of the desk.  
"Okay," the man said thinly, "I'm going to skip the formals. Agent Sydney Bristow, I am Agent Norman Valenti. The Director asked me to represent him in this meeting today. I am sorry for pulling you out like this, but we figured it was either now or never." He nodded to Sydney's father. "Jack, if you may."  
Jack Bristow nodded at the representative. "Well, it's very simple," he told them. "I've been watching the transition within SD-6 for some quite time while Sloane was assigning many new and challenging assignments for Agent Bristow here. Apparently, there are some higher-ups that not very many people are aware within the system and that may be the trouble."  
"How so?" Sydney asked intently.  
Something briefly flickered in her father's eyes as he cleared his throat abruptly. "There are some fractions within SD-6 that do not entirely agree with Sloane's---um, leadership within SD-6," he replied dryly. "They think that he is not fit to lead SD-6 and figure that they can do a better job."  
"Hoe many fractions are we talking about here?" Sydney inquired.  
Jack brushed his hand absently across his forehead. He looks pretty tired, Sydney thought as she shifted the pressure from her legs. "I can't give you an exact amount on who's involved, but I do know it's more than one person involved. And they're really well wedged within the program that it's hard to figure out who it is. I'm still looking into it."  
Vaughn sighed. "This is going to be tough," he finally said. "It's going to be like looking for a needle amidst a haystack. Do you even know what you're looking for?"  
"Not yet," Sydney's father admitted coldly. "But I'm doing my very best."  
Valenti nodded. "Yes, we are," he supported, gesturing for Jack to sit down again, preparing for the entire briefing. "This is pretty serious now. We need to know exactly what is going on behind enemy lines. If there is a little quarrel going on behind Credit Dauphine, we need to know. This may be our chance to learn and perhaps weaken the entire command structure of SD-6, which can be the most crippling blow to them to this date."  
Jack straightened his posture. "Our orders, sir?"  
"Go back and keep narrowing down the search field," Valenti quipped, looking at each of them sharply. Sydney tried hard to control her shudder. "We must find out who is after Agent Sydney Bristow here and why they are after her. Agent Vaughn, your main priority right now is ensuring Agent Bristow's safety here. You all have your orders. Dismissed." He then got up and stalked out of the room like a mean old man. Jack didn't stay for another moment as he gave Sydney a slight nod and a hard glare to Vaughn before disappearing out the door right after.   
Boy, was this going to be a long afternoon. He cleared his throat in hopes that he sounded like a gentleman. "So…you hungry?" 


	5. Problems at Early Hours

here's chapter four and happy new year's to all my readers! ^_^ the chapter's pretty short but here it is anyways. ^_^ don't forget to R&R!  
  
  
Chapter Four  
"Mission a failure…sir."  
"What? What do you mean, failure?"  
"The subject is still…walking, sir."  
"Did she fight you?"  
"Sort of…sir. Someone intervened."  
"Who is this someone?"  
"I…I don't know, sir."  
"'I don't know' is not good enough. Hmm…someone obviously is watching over her as well. Nevertheless, I want the subject eliminated---along with her little guardian angels, whoever they may be---ASAP."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Don't fail me, Folken, or you'll disappear as quickly as Agent Bristow will."  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"I'm calling it a day," Will told his boss as he started packing his things into his briefcase. He felt like a drunkard for he had consumed over ten cups of coffee in the matter of the day. As much as he drank the coffee at remarkable rates, he couldn't say the same for his article. There was nothing that was coming into his mind.  
It was a classic case of writer's block.   
His boss rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Will," she told him grouchily. "There just better be an article for me tomorrow morning on this desk."   
"Yes, ma'am," he told her but her back was already facing him. What a bitch, he thought sullenly. At the corner of his eyes, he could see Jenny etch towards him, looking dark and shy. He looked up from what he was doing and saw that she really was looking down. He sighed and stopped what he was doing. "What's wrong now, Jenny?"  
"Oh, Will," she said passionately, "I feel so bad for yelling at you this morning."  
"It's all right, Jenny," he told her as gently as he could.  
"No, it's not!" she insisted, frowning miserably and bolting her fists up.  
He suddenly felt guilty, and he felt it stab him in the heart. Will took a step forward and placed his hands on her sagging shoulders. The girl looked so unhappy over their little argument that morning. She looked so crushed and the sudden wave of guilt tripled on its own. "Hey, it's all right," he repeated gently with a smile. "It's no problem. Look, I got to get going now, just let go of the entire thing and we'll talk about this…over lunch tomorrow, okay?"  
"Um…okay."  
Will smiled. "Okay. Call me if there's a message for me, okay?"  
She gave him a crisp salute. "Yes, sir!"  
He tried hard not to roll his eyes as he lifted his briefcase and left.  
  
You sure this information is reliable?  
Of course I'm sure, what do you think I am, absent-minded?  
Yes.  
Let's not go there.  
Agreed. Anyways, are you positive about the information?  
I haven't failed you yet, Nads.  
So don't start.  
Okay, okay, I can't believe how low you think of me.  
Trust me, you don't want to know how low I think of you.  
Whatever. I know you're lying.  
Do you? We're using a messenger for crying out loud!  
I just know this stuff.  
So what are you now, a technomage?   
Maybe. Look, this is pretty serious info I got here. What are you going to do about it?  
I don't know…tell my uncle, I suppose.  
And what will he do? Tell the higher-ups about this? They won't listen to us. To you.  
I'll make 'em.  
How? You're not even in the CIA.  
Not completely yet. My teacher and Uncle are almost ready to give the recommendation---if I don't screw up this little mission, that is.  
Still, they'll start dissing you about your age and all.  
Nonetheless, I will notify them…before we lose it all.  
I won't stop you, Nads, but…be careful.  
Trust me…I will.  
  
Sydney did not know why she was roused out of bed in the early hours of the morning. She just got the "Joey's Pizza" wrong number, which was her signal to meet Vaughn at the abandoned warehouse. She was still half asleep but managed to drive the entire trip there. She wondered why Vaughn had called her; was it work-related or something otherwise? If it was something else, she had better hurry before she made Vaughn annoyed at the long wait---  
It was probably work-related, she thought glumly.  
She entered the silent warehouse. It was dark but not completely dark. She made her way across the corridor, her work all memorized out. It was a peculiar meeting place, but it was away from normal society where they wouldn't be recognized. In a way, it was as though they were excluded from civilization, in a world of their own. Away from her problems. Away from her life. Away from SD-6 and all the complications with them for a brief moment.  
She saw Vaughn standing at his usual spot as their usual meeting place. He wasn't in his suit and it was clear he too was roused out of bed unwillingly. His hair was a lot messier than usual and his face was an aura of undying concern and worry, even underneath his unshaved face. This isn't good, she realized, noticing how fully awake she had become. Though he does look cute with the rugged look, she added slyly.  
"Vaughn," she greeted, closing the gate behind her.  
"Sydney," he greeted in a hoarse voice, "sorry about waking you up this early."  
"It's all right," she lied with a brief smile, leaning on some craters. Inside, she could hear her inner voice growling at his untimely call for a meeting. Of all the things, it said, must you wake a tired woman for this? This has better be good.   
Shut up, she told it. "What's up?"  
He sighed. It was clear how heavy the things he was going to say were. "My informant's got some new information regarding the higher-ups in SD-6," he said softly. He rubbed his eye with the hilt of his hand. "Apparently, we're dealing with about five fractions in the entire system who want SD-6 for their own. Each one of them knows how SD-6 is running right now and the current political balances that they are dealing with. They know who's involved and what's coming in and out. God, they know the place inside out, practically!!! Each one with trump cards up their sleeves."  
"Each one of them knows about me," she concurred.  
He didn't want to confirm that but he didn't want to lie either. "Yes."  
She sighed. "Well, that was certainly interesting."  
"That's not all," he said gravely. "They've known the transactions going in and out. They know that there's a mole or two in SD-6 and they want them eradicated. And they certainly don't want the blood on their hands so they're keeping tight-lipped about it all. You got to be more careful. They're slowly moving their men into position against SD-6. They're waiting for the perfect moment to advance in. I don't know if Sloan's aware of this, but if he is, he'd better start some defence. Fast."  
"I thought we were out to bring down SD-6."  
"We are. But not like this, Sydney," he told her, sitting on his feet before her so their eyes would meet directly. "I mean, God, from what my informant can gather, these people are ruthless. They are far worse than SD-6, far deadlier, far more darker than them. We can't allow them to take over SD-6 by all means necessary."  
She turned away, deep in thought.  
Do the right thing, he urged her silently, wishing he could tell her a loud. Don't let your hate get in the way. Think it over, Sydney, do the right thing. "I'm sorry, Sydney," he said, hoping his voice was a little light-hearted than a moment ago, "if this is going to give you nightmares…"  
She smiled reservedly and breathed in heavily. "What do I do?"  
He sighed. Thank goodness. "I got orders---"  
Suddenly, a gun went off.  
  
Nads woke up with a start.  
Her phone was ringing.  
"Son of a bitch," she muttered, turning over her cot and drifting back to sleep.  
Her cell phone rang again, playing "My Way or the Highway" by Limp Bizkit. She groaned out a colourful array of words as she turned back the other way and grabbed the cell phone. The lights were flashing and the call display read Weiss. Of course, she groaned unenthusiastically. Vaughn's little amusing friend who was more of a jack ass than a clown when it came to his jokes.   
She turned on her cell. "What do you want?" she slurred with a hint of anger.  
"Whoa, chill out, Xena."  
"You have thirty seconds to tell me why the hell you're calling me or I hang up."  
"Wait, wait! Hang on, girl---"  
"Twenty-five seconds…"  
"All right! Geez us…cripes, what's up with you?" he croaked unintelligibly. She couldn't help smiling; she loved to put Weiss on the spot. She considered it one of the reasons she was still alive. "Okay, okay. I've been trying to get a hold of Vaughn for a while…something came up on the SD-6 server that we hacked in some time ago and I thought he'd want to see it. Instead, his cell phone's like all wacked and I don't know where the hell he is!"  
Uh-oh, she thought in distress.  
"Nads, can you help me out here a bit and call him at his place?" he pleaded.  
But Nads had already bounded off the bed and clamoured to the window. Her car wasn't parked where it was supposed to be. Tell me this isn't what I think it is, she prayed. She quickly brought up the spy camera program on her computer screen to see the assassin was not at the room he was currently residing in. She swore beneath his breath and checked another camera view. The street was empty under the street lights. She slammed her fist on the cold bench.   
"Dammit, the hit man's on their tail!" she cried into the cell phone, her nerves all bright and alert now. "He must been at the warehouse to give Sydney some info that I passed on to him a few hours---dammit, he's crazy to even think of having a meeting this early in the morning! The hit man will know for sure that something's up and our entire mission will be going straight to hell before you can say 'What the freak?' Agh!" she yelled, slamming her fist against the wall again.  
"Now what?" Weiss asked softly.  
Nads breathed in slowly, carefully. She had to calm down. She brushed her dishevelled hair back and rocked herself back and forth, deep in thought. She forced her last reserves of calm upon her before speaking again to Weiss. It was partially his fault for bringing this all up to her, but it sounded as though he didn't have a choice here. "Look, I think I know where they're at. I'll go check it out while you try to plug up whatever problem you got going on there."  
"But Vaughn's got to see this!"  
"Call Sydney's dad and get him to look at it."  
"But you can't go there alone! Standard protocol. And…um, you're a little on the young side."  
Nads snorted derisively. "Who cares about that right now?" she demanded huskily, pulling on some pants over her boxers at the moment and searching for a hooded sweater. "I got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. Just call me if something goes wrong, all right?"  
"Okay. But I don't like Agent Bristow," Weiss added with a squeal. "He scares me."  
Nads shrugged. "Tough luck, Weiss."  
"Be careful."  
"Of course I will." How many times have I said that today? She asked herself as she closed her cell phone and pocketed it in her leather jacket. With one final defiant glare at the computer screen, she ran out the door with the car keys. 


	6. Dealings in the Dark

okay, here's the next chapter. a lot of fighting, some swearing (mild swearing) and [I]a lot[/I] of mushy stuff...yes, guardian angel fans will love this chapter. i may have errors here and there...i was in some sort of a rush editting this piece.  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
The gunshots pierced the empty cargo holders as Vaughn and Sydney crouched and ran for cover behind some large bins. The gunshots came by surprise and before they knew it, they found themselves running for their lives inside the abandoned warehouse. Vaughn led the way across the maze of stacks of cargoes and wooden crates. Sydney marvelled at Vaughn's memory of the warehouse's layout. They dashed behind a heavy crate that faced another large room filled with the empty stuff.   
"God, is this who I think it is?" Vaughn gasped as he struggled to get something out from somewhere underneath his jacket.  
Sydney put her hands on her face. "God, how could I have been so stupid!"  
He looked at her. "What?"  
"It's the hit man," she blurted out. He stared at her in disbelief for a long moment as Sydney sighed, her hands on her head. "Gosh, I was so tired that I didn't realized that I was being tracked…of course! Gosh…this is all my fault…" She stared hard at Vaughn, who pulled out something from his waist. "What are you doing?"  
Vaughn checked his gun, checked the load and then looked out. "Saving our asses."  
"Can you even fire that?"  
He looked at her in disbelief. "I'm a CIA agent…everyone in the field can. It's required."  
She blushed sheepishly and turned away. "Oh."  
He looked at her back that was facing him for the moment. He then turned towards the end of the cargo they were hiding behind from. He could hear the eerie footsteps that the hit man was making from the far end of the corridor. He was sweating like mad; this was one of the rare times that he had to actually pull out his gun and protect himself. But this time he wasn't just protecting himself; he also had to protect Sydney.  
Life was getting better and better, wasn't it?  
"Where is he, Vaughn?" she whispered.  
Vaughn frowned slightly. "I don't know…close by…about 10 meters…"  
"What?"  
He turned to her and blushed bashfully. "Sorry. I'm not exactly the math whiz here," he said as he turned away to look from his end. It sounded more like an apology and it was sincere. He hadn't been in field for a very long time and his math was getting a little rusty, unless you count staying up to listen to your niece ramble about her calculus exams. "I can see his shadow."  
"Where?"  
"He's near the exit…damn, there goes that plan."  
"What plan?" she demanded, whirling around the glare at him. Her glare was as hot as fire and it was so annoyed that it made Vaughn want to hide behind some other cargo vaults as long as it was far away from her angry face. "How come you didn't tell me you had a plan? Or did you forget that I'm the prey of this mad man and you just fazed out?"  
Vaughn was about to snap something back at her when he heard a click.  
Both of them turned around and hid as far down as they could behind the crater as the footsteps began to get louder and louder. He was closing in to their position and they were getting closer to their big finale. Vaughn clutched to his gun like a lifeline; if worse came to worse, he would tell Sydney to run and he would deal with the hit man himself.  
If he could only survive the entire experience.  
Sydney grabbed his arm and pulled him down behind the crate again. "Okay, I have an idea," she said softly. "It's not a lot to begin with and it's sure as hell as crazy but I think it can work."  
"Care to fill me in?"  
Sydney scowled and he could've sworn she was going to punch him out. "See that corridor over there between those two gigantic craters? We slide through them and I think they go out behind him. See the exit that you supposedly said there was no hope to get through?"  
"I never said that."  
"You implied it. Anyways, we try to sneak out there. If he sees us, I kick his ass."  
Vaughn shrugged. It sounded better than his idea of trying to fight the hit man and bravely letting Sydney run for her dear life. The thought of his lifeless body on the floor of the warehouse was not a pretty thought. "Sounds like a plan, though I have to admit, it's sort of crude," he said, cradling his gun in his hand carefully, ready to fight.   
Sydney gave him another odd look. "It's the best I can think of," she said flatly.  
He raised his hands. "No argument from me," he told her, "now let's go. He's closing in."  
Sydney closed her eyes. The footsteps were growing closer and louder. She grabbed Vaughn's hand, which startled him, and started darting towards the narrow corridor that she was pointing to. Vaughn did not struggle behind her or kept her back but actually ran with her on a steady pace. The corridor was a little farther than she thought.   
Bam! Bam!  
Sydney ducked and ducked behind some craters near the narrow corridor, her hands covering her face. God, how the hell did she wind up in such a mess? She wondered as she heard more gunshots being fired. When will this madness end?  
  
The car was going way too slow.  
At least that was what Nads thought as she hit the wheel of the car as she drove down the streets of Los Angeles. Not very many cars were on the road in that time of hour except for the passing drunkard. Because her window was cranked down, a gush of cool air comforted her sweaty face. "Hurry up, you freaking car," she growled beneath her breath as she passed by a Rav 4. "You're going way to frigging slow here!"  
The stoplights ahead turned red as she slowed down. She cursed beneath her breath as she switched on the CD to some rock music and struggled to keep her patience. Beside her, a large 4 by 4 stopped at the red light carrying some party animals listening to loud rap music. The music was so loud that it drowned out her music out completely.  
Nads narrowed her eyes and turned around. No one dared to drown out this woman's music. No one. She saw inside the large van, some sort of gang. Two boys were at the front around her age dressed up in bandanas and loose articles of clothing, promoting the bagginess of their tastes in clothes. Behind them, she heard giggling and groans that made Nads not want to know.  
One of the boys turned to meet her in the eye. He then swatted at his driver friend and pointed at her with a sly grin, a grin she knew all too well. The boy then leaned over the open window and smiled toothily at Nads, his earring glistening under the red light. "Hey, girlfriend," he greeted with some sort of far out accent. "Say, you alone there? Need some tender loving?" He winked.  
"How about get a life?" she snapped back coolly.  
"Ooh, feisty," he said as his companion laughed. "Come on, I'll show you my crib."  
"How about I show you my fist?"   
The boys started making disgusting noises. Nads sighed. It was clear of what maturity level they were at as she tapped her finger impatiently. What was taking the stoplights so long to change? She needed to catch up with Vaughn and Sydney quickly before she finds corpses instead. She also wanted to get rid of the two idiots beside her.  
"Come on, babe, I know you want some," he told her from the van.  
The lights finally turned green. Nads smiled sweetly, stuck up the middle finger at them and zoomed down the quiet roads of Los Angeles, leaving behind the perplexed boys in the jeep.   
  
Vaughn turned to Sydney as whispered, "Sydney! You all right?"  
She shook off the jitters that went up her spine. "Yeah, I think so."  
"Sydney! Go run down that corridor and get the hell out of here," Vaughn instructed as the hit man shot two more bullets. The bullets slammed into the empty cargo crates with a sharp ping. He blinked before returning his attention to Sydney. "Don't worry, I'll cover you. When I tell you to go, you run and you don't look back."  
"I'm not leaving you here."  
"You're going to have to."  
"No, Vaughn! He's after me, not you!" she told him.   
"No time for arguments! I'll find another way out!"  
"If you're trying to be a macho hero for my sake, it's not working."  
"If you're trying to get your way, it's not working."  
More gunshots were fired as they hid safely behind the craters. Vaughn peered at the edge and fired two shots of his own, both of them missing by a fraction of a second. Gosh, was he getting pissed! The adrenaline was rushing down his blood like his lifeline and he was getting pumped up. I guess it's time to prove if I do have 'balls of steel', he cajoled silently.  
"Vaughn!" Sydney hissed.  
He looked at her, standing at the other side behind the craters. "Why are you still here?" he asked her in the same tone of voice and manner. "Get going! I'll deal with this guy!"  
"Keep him busy." She then disappeared.  
He frowned. Keep him busy? He IS keeping him busy! Sort of, anyways. What was Sydney planning to do, anyways? He sighed as he checked his bullets. I trust her now, he told himself. She's the expert in these fields. She knows what she's doing. I hope. I might as well follow this line to the end. Some gunshots broke his train of thought as Vaughn shot back.  
A classic.  
Bam!  
Click.  
Bam!  
Click.  
Click.  
Vaughn looked at his gun, a horrified look imprinted on his face. He looked at the number of bullets he had left. None! He was standing there with a gun that had no more bullets! He groaned, thumping his head on the hollow crater behind him. What was a use of a man without a gun? A gun without bullets, that is. He might as well wave a white flag implementing his utter surrender.  
Footsteps.  
Damn, the bastard was headed towards him! Vaughn bit down on his lip to prevent an utter yelp of colourful words. This was probably the worst moment of his life, aside from being pulled off Sydney's case and replaced by that sleaze, Lambert. It was worst from when he accidentally pissed Nads off and was nearly kicked out of the house as a result. It was worst from the many 'manly' talks he had with Sydney's father and was worst from meeting 'Will' for the first time.  
Gosh, how he hated his life completely.  
"Hey buddy, looking for me?"  
Bam!  
Vaughn looked out from his hiding place. There he saw Sydney, retrieving her hand from a punch she had just laid on the hit man. The hit man buckled back, clutching his jaw. He was obviously pissed, as he should be. The man then leapt towards Sydney and pinned her to one of the craters. Sydney wasted no time as she executed a swift kick in the groin and to his face. The man staggered back. Vaughn could see that Sydney had just about enough of him.  
The hit man then slid something from his handcuff. It glistened when it hit the low lights and made Vaughn jolt in alarm. It was a knife! Before he could yell out a warning to Sydney, the hit man lashed out at Sydney, the knife blade out. Vaughn felt like squeezing his eyes shut like he did when watching scary movies as a child but he didn't. He had to watch it to the bitter end, helplessly.   
Luckily, Sydney took a step back, ducking from the knife attack. She grabbed his arm and slammed her other hand into his hand, making him drop the knife. She kicked it away from their little fight as she stepped him and flung the hit man over her head and onto the floor. He groaned, rolling to his side in pain. Sydney stepped back, trying to breathe some air herself. She turned around to find Vaughn watching her.   
"Are you just going to stand there?" she demanded.   
"I'd rather not be in his position, thank you."  
"Let's go!"  
Before they could start running, someone grabbed Sydney from behind and locked her in a tight death grip. She spun around and the hit man slammed his fleshy fist into her face. She buckled back in pain and the impact of the blow. The hit man then punched her and kicked her senselessly until she was pretty much on the floor.   
For a moment, Vaughn forgot about being undercover and forgot about standard protocol. He forgot everything but the fact that Sydney, the person he was handling, was going to lose her life unless he did something. He ran out behind the crater and launched a series of punches at the man, hitting him in three areas; the face, the belly and the groin. Each punch made the hit man buckle farther from Sydney's position until Vaughn did a final blow that sent the man crashing into some Styrofoam.   
Vaughn ran back to where Sydney lay. A bruise was forming on her left cheek and a bit of blood was coming out of her lips. She groaned softly and winced at the pain that racked her body. She struggled to move and get up but the pain that the hit man had inflicted was taking over her senses and she grimaced again. He felt strong yet gentle hands help her to her feet and whisper, "Come on, I'm getting you out of here right away."  
  
Nads was headed towards the warehouse when she got a call. She patted her jacket and pulled out her trusty cell phone. She checked back to make she wasn't followed by those perverted boys back at the stoplights and made sure the car was locked up correctly. It technically wasn't her car, not yet, but she didn't want to come back to find it stolen or vandalized or something.  
That is, if she ever came back.  
The caller display read Weiss. Again.  
For a moment, Nads debated on whether to answer the phone call or not. After a while, she shrugged and pressed the talk button. "This has better be good."  
"I assembled a little back up for you, Nads."  
"How sweet."  
"I'm serious. It's procedure, too," he replied seriously. "It consists of only four people…I could call up some more but I think I'll be getting an earful of crap instead before I can get them to you. I think that'll do nicely."  
"Why are you doing this?"  
"Because it's---"  
"Yeah, yeah, I know about the whole protocol thing," she replied, stopping short of the front entrance to the warehouse. She didn't want to make any noise inside, so she decided to finish the conversation outside. "But why are YOU doing this for me? I mean, people like you don't even give you pennies about me yet you…"  
"Hey, I just don't want you getting killed or something, all right?"  
"Okay," she said in disbelief, looking around. "Hopefully Weiss' agents will be here soon….got to get in there. Hopefully I don't find Vaughn and Sydney on the ground---or worse. I'll talk to you when I get back. Later." She closed her cell phone before he could protest and with one last look at the car, she went in.  
  
"I know…I know I shouldn't take you here, but I don't think you should be at your place either for the moment," Vaughn said breathlessly as he struggled to open the door to his house door while propping Sydney up as well. The key didn't go in correctly into the keyhole and he cursed beneath his breath, flipping along the keys.  
Beside him, Sydney groaned in pain.  
This made Vaughn frantic. "A ha!" He pushed open the door and helped Sydney in, opening the lights. It revealed his living room, which was modern and simple. Then she noticed that there was a pile of clothes lying on the chair near the hallway. She assumed that it was probably his as she winced at her pain. He placed her gently on the couch and Sydney moved to get comfortable. Her muscles screamed bloody murder as she hastily kicked her shoes off and lifted her feet up.   
Vaughn gave a little laugh. "I'll go get some ice."  
He disappeared for a moment. Sydney closed her eyes and reviewed the last hour's transactions. The entire talk about the levels of SD-6, the sudden attack of bullets, the fight, Vaughn saving her…Vaughn saving her? She snapped her eyes open. Well, well, she thought, for once, you actually were the damsel in distress.  
Vaughn reappeared carrying a stainless steel bowl that contained some ice. He gestured for Sydney to move over a bit as he sat down at the edge of the couch. He lifted a bag that contained ice and showed it to her like a prize. "Okay, hold still," he told her as he patted the bag onto Sydney's bruised face. "I wouldn't want your friend to see this on your face."  
"I could say I fell down the staircase on my way out," she told him, trying to keep her eyes straight. She couldn't help but peep at Vaughn, his gray-blue eyes focused intently onto her wound like a hawk. I never knew he had such beautiful eyes, she thought to herself. "Besides, Francie isn't going to be back from New York City for a while."  
"Oh, I see."  
She grabbed Vaughn's wrist as she propped herself up a bit more from her position. Her muscles and fibres screamed in anguish but she was determined not to show Vaughn that. She looked into his eyes intently. She could see that he was visibly startled and confused by her sudden gesture. She would normally be to. But she had to say something. "Vaughn, I---"  
"Please, call me Michael."  
"Okay, um, Michael," she said with a small smile. "I want to thank you for what you did back there…inside the warehouse."  
"What did I do?" he asked mildly.  
She rolled her eyes. "Don't get modest on me," she teased before saying seriously, "I'm serious, Vaughn, I really appreciated what you did back there. I could've sworn he was going to kill me right there and then. I didn't think you'd---"  
"Jump in there and start beating the crap out of that guy? I'm a guy, remember?"  
She smiled bashfully. "I remember that."  
The awkwardness started to creep up from out of nowhere. Sydney suddenly felt that tension that was going on between them and it was incredibly strong. She was suddenly aware of his eyes that held an amazing energy and an amazing strength that even he didn't want to admit. She noticed the way his hair casually fell from his forehead and the way his lips always held a close perfection to those statues she always found herself gazing to in Rome.   
Like the Mona Lisa.   
She couldn't help it; she leaned over and kissed him on his lips. It was a questioning kind of kiss and he knew it. For a moment, she thought she was in heaven. She didn't want to let go until she realized that she was kissing her handler. She drew apart from him, shocked at what she had just done. It was probably sudden impulse, she thought rationally. What am I getting myself into? This is the second time that I've done it! Gosh, first Will, now Vaughn…  
Before she could explain herself, he drew her closer again, this time all of the emotions that they had suppressed for the past months that they had been collaborating together. It was all out in the open now, there was no denying about it.   
Suddenly, someone opened the door. 


	7. Formal Introductions & Lurking Behind Bu...

here's the next chapter---a little more open to some of the mysteries that has been clogged up since the beginning. well, a little more, not all the way yet ^_~ i'd like to thank all those people who are reading my fic and reviewing them---it's nice to hear that people are enjoying it. well, enjoy and don't forget to read and review. ^_^  
  
  
Chapter Six  
"This is vital information, uh, sir," Weiss quivered as the powerful figure of Jack Bristow loomed over him, watching the computer screen intently. He was honest when he told Nads that he feared Jack Bristow. He meant every word of it; the man was a walking contradiction. He criticized everything, particularly Vaughn's past actions and decisions. It was no secret that this man despised Vaughn's guts. "My guess is that Sloane has no idea what is really going on in the higher-ups."  
"I see."  
"Um…sir?"  
Bristow rolled his eyes. "Yes, Agent Weiss?"  
"What are you going to do?"   
For the first time, Bristow looked uncertain. Score one for the loser's team---consisting of…well, for the moment, me, Weiss jeered silently as he watched the senior officer decide on what to do. "We're going to have to hold this information back for now," he told him. "At least until I get into SD-6 headquarters again and check out the status there. I'm due there today at eight anyways, so I might as well get an early start. Is Vaughn and my daughter notified by this?"  
"Um…they will be."  
"What are you waiting for?"  
"Morning…sir."  
Bristow narrowed his eyes at Weiss, sizing him up. Weiss suddenly felt small and intimidated against this man. His fear of Jack Bristow tripled and quadrupled over and over again, making him feel like a morsel of food, ready to be eaten. God, he wished that Vaughn or Nads were here as he squirmed inwardly.   
The senior double agent bristled and stood up straight. "Let me know of any developments." With a last wary glance at Weiss, he turned around and left the computer room grouchily. Weiss loosed up his collar and his tie, wiping the sweat from his forehead. At last, the sudden tension was over, at least for the time being.   
This was going to be a very long day.  
  
Vaughn and Sydney looked up towards the door. At the doorway stood a figure clad in black pants, a gray-hooded sweatshirt topped by a leather jacket. The newcomer's face was hidden under the hood. Underneath the jacket, Sydney could see a gun tucked in her belt. Sydney shivered at the sight of the gun; was this yet another assassin on her tail?  
God, she hoped not.  
She turned to Vaughn to see his reaction. He looked more embarrassed than afraid.  
The newcomer shut the door and then started walking towards the chair where the clothes were piled up. "Hey Uncle," the newcomer greeted, clearly a female. The voice was remarkably familiar. Then the newcomer stopped dead in her tracks and supposedly glared at the sight on the couch. "Okay, Unc, what is she doing here?"  
"Unc?" Sydney inquired to Vaughn.  
Vaughn blushed dark red under the low lights. "Nads, I can explain…"  
"No, no, just don't, okay?" she told him as she peeled off her leather jacket. "We are going to have a talk about this later, all right? About protocol and all. Gosh, how many times have I been hearing about protocol this past week?" she asked herself as she made her way to the kitchen area of the house, pulling off her gray sweater. Sydney watched carefully as it revealed a young lady with dark hair and large eyes that contrasted with her pale skin. She was also an oriental. Sydney was further surprised to see that the girl was wearing a bulletproof jacket underneath.  
"That's Nads?" Sydney whispered.  
"Yes…"  
"Why does she call you Unc?"  
Nads, in the meantime, was examining the contents of the coffee maker. She frowned in disgust and dumped the contents into the sink. "Uncle, do you even bother making new coffee? This stuff's a week old!" she croaked, then focused her attention to Sydney. "I call Vaughn over there Unc because…well, he's my uncle. Not by blood, but you supposedly get the impression." She shrugged and turned back to the empty coffee pot.  
Vaughn released his hold from Sydney, much to her protest. He got up and went over the Nads. He examined her features under the bright light of the kitchen. "God, Nads, what happened to you?" he asked, pointing to her a spot near her brow. "You've got a bruise forming there."  
"It's nothing," she said with a dismissive wave.  
"It looks like something, Nads."  
"I said it's nothing," she told him with a stubborn glare. She opened the fridge. "Great, and there's no more ice as well," she groaned, looking at her uncle again. She noticed that he was still carrying the stainless steel that held the ice pack. She grabbed the bowl from his hands before he could protest and patted the sack just above her brow. "I'll take that," she told him smugly. The sack fell from her forehead and onto the bowl. "God, I'm going to have to tape this on my face at this rate."  
"Nads…"  
"If you're worried whether I'd tell Devlin, don't worry," she told him quickly, moving towards the chair of clothes. Sydney sat silently on the couch, watching the entire conversation. "Besides, I never met him before, so there's no trouble, right?" She patted her wound carefully with the pack before putting it down and searching through the clothes. "Sorry about this, Agent---Miss Bristow. I'm usually not a mess…unlike some people…"  
"Hey!" Vaughn cried out indignantly.  
Nads smiled cryptically at Sydney. "See what I mean?"  
Vaughn folded his arms across his chest and scowled at Nads. Sydney couldn't help but think that he looked just like a father would. She also noticed the sudden shift in his eyes. When she kissed him, she saw a certain fire, a certain passion and a certain gentleness she never knew a guy could possess. Now he held a strange gaze that she had never seen him use before; he looked like a father worried about his own child.   
Vaughn, a father figure?   
It was possible, she thought.  
"Nads, where have you been?" he told her sternly, seriously. He sounded worried and deeply concerned. Even more concerned than when he was talking to her. Sydney took a step back to allow the uncle and his niece to talk. "The bruise…did you get into a brawl or something? Aren't you supposed to be in the lookout?"  
"I was," she said grittily, "until some people decided to disappear from their homes." At that moment, both Sydney and Vaughn sulked back and glanced at each other. Nads sighed. "Unc, didn't I tell you that the information can wait until morning? No, instead, you guys sneak off with the hit man behind you guys!"  
"How do you know about this?" Vaughn asked darkly.  
Nads sighed and rolled her eyes. "I am the all-knowing, all-seeing informant, remember?" she cried. "Weiss called me in the early hours saying that he was looking for you. He found something on the SD-6 server that he wanted you to look at but no one was answering his or her cell phone. Sounds familiar? So then he calls me and starts bugging me about it so I went after you guys."  
"We made it out of the warehouse with the hit man unconscious," Vaughn told her.   
"Unconscious with the information that Sydney Bristow here is meeting up with some strange guy for some odd reason," Nads pointed out finely as she rubbed her eyes wearily. "Trust me, I don't think this hit man is thinking that she's having a midnight fling with someone in some abandoned warehouse. Gosh, I wish we had some coffee right now. Anyways, that is a security leak, Unc, a very precarious one, too. You should've reviewed your situation before you plunged yourself into it."  
"Nads, I don't need to be---"  
"Lectured? Too bad, Vaughn, it's either me or Devlin!" Nads shot back, a sudden snap of anger and stubbornness Sydney was taken aback by the sudden portrayal of emotion. Was this the same girl who saved her the first time in the alley and calmly told her to watch herself? Both Vaughn and Nads was fuming steam at each other, letting out all the bottled frustrations of the job.  
At the same time, Nads cell went off playing "My Way or the Highway" again. Nads turned away from Vaughn and Sydney to answer the cell phone. Brushing her hair back, she said, "Nads."  
Vaughn sighed, closing his eyes shut and rubbing off his frustration. He sighed; Nads was right, as always. It was odd…he had been in the CIA for four years and Nads had only been sticking around for a year or so and already she was far more careful that he was. Was he losing touch already? Or was he putting his personal feelings first before safety? Nads had come about to being his counsel and guide in all of this yet again.   
Sydney watched Vaughn ponder to himself. He looks so harassed, she thought. And this is my fault. This is all my fault. The hit man and being in SD-6…all because I wanted to be something bigger than myself. And here Vaughn is, taking in the pain and burden that I should be carrying myself. She sighed. Maybe she was his burden.   
Sydney placed a hand on Vaughn's. He looked up, startled and touched by the gesture.  
"I'm sorry, Vau---Michael," she whispered. "For all this."  
This caught his attention. "Don't be, Sydney, don't be," he told her gently.  
She shook her head. "I know I'm such a burden…"  
"No, no, never," he insisted with a warbly smile.  
At the same time, Nads was listening to the phone call. It was Weiss from the office explaining his ordeal with Mr. Bristow and the computer data. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Weiss, but we were unavailable at that moment," she told him as she pulled on a white blouse over her bulletproof vest. "It couldn't have been that bad."  
"Yeah, right! He was like, ready to kick my ass all the way to Antarctica!"  
She sighed, buttoning her shirt. "Well, I can't be the judge of that since I never met Mr. Bristow before," she told him. This caught the interest of both Sydney and Vaughn. "Look, don't freak. It was the spur of the moment. It was that, and the fact that you roused us all up before dawn." She flipped her hair back and stood up properly. "I'm coming by to see this for myself---and Vaughn's coming with me. It's time he gets to take a look at this." She glared at her uncle.  
"Okay, by the way, Devlin is calling a meeting at ten."  
"Who informed him of this?" Nads demanded.  
"Jack Bristow did."  
She sighed as she adjusted her tie on her collar. "I guess it's time to meet my boss," she told him wearily. "We'll be there before seven. You---no freaking out, do you hear me? Go get some breakfast---oh! And make sure that there's some coffee and a bottle of a water when we get there."  
"Anything for Xena."  
"Don't call me that. It better be there or someone will pay." She then hung up and turned to Vaughn and Sydney. "Unc, we better get on a go. This information's been postponed for far too many hours," she told him. "Hurry up and get dressed. Miss Bristow, Agent Weiss also told me to tell you that you're free to return back to SD-6. Your role for now is to help your father to pull out possible suspects on who's on the higher alliances."  
Sydney nodded. "Okay."  
"Who ordered this?" Vaughn asked from his bedroom.   
"Devlin did. Hurry up," Nads told him. She returned her gaze to Sydney. "You need a ride?"  
"Oh, no, I think that's too much trouble," she told her with a small laugh. "I wouldn't want to trouble you guys with a car ride. I'll just call a taxi back to my place and get ready to go to work. It wouldn't take long, I'm sure. You guys can go to HQ." She paused.  
Nads smiled. "Miss Bristow, just to let you know, you're not a burden to Vaughn."  
Sydney's brows went up. "Oh?"  
"Yeah," she told her, "in fact, you're probably the greatest thing that's happened to him." She opened the door outside. She grabbed the keys and turned back to Sydney. "It's nice to meet you…I mean, not in alleyway or anything…just watch yourself. I'll be looking up on you from time to time."  
Sydney did a curt nod and Nads left the room.  
  
"Has Folken returned yet?"  
"No, sir."  
"What the hell happened to him?"  
"I---I don't know, sir."  
Silence.  
"Well, don't just stand there---FIND HIM!!!!"  
  
Will was driving up some side street, his ears on the morning news. His windows were pulled down for the fumes of coffee and his dinner was suffocating. The street was fairly quiet and the sun was just beginning to rise from the east. He had stayed up all night making an article for his boss and winded up searching and trying to look up the file of this "Vaughn" character. The strange thing was, his file---social, health of otherwise---was nowhere to be found. Credit Dauphine had no record of a Michael Vaughn on their employees list and when he tried searching the social files and census files, his file happened to be locked up.  
This guy was trouble, and Will could sense it with his reporter eye.  
He suddenly passed by a house. It was just like every one, only there was one thing peculiar. Well, two things. There was a girl out at the front of the house, dressed up like a businesswoman, ready to do something or leave. The second thing was that a familiar guy was just exiting his house with a woman behind him---  
Sydney! And the guy---Vaughn!  
Will pulled over just a couple of houses behind and got out of the car. Yes! He found the home of that mysterious guy he met yesterday. What was Sydney doing with this guy, anyways? He wondered as he hid behind a bush of some prickly leaves and watched the transaction carefully. He wished he had his recorder with him, or a notepad.  
He could barely make out what they were saying.  
"…be careful…"  
"…you when I get home…"  
"…dangerous…"  
"…yourself…"  
He then watched as Sydney leaned over and planted a kiss onto Vaughn. Will almost fell onto the prickly bush and died right there and then. God, she was kissing that bastard! Sydney was kissing that dangerous and mysterious man! How could she---He felt his hopes drop just like the time when Sydney told him that Danny proposed to her.  
Will knew that Sydney was trying to move on with her life and the thoughts of being with her…the prospect that she could be with him…resurfaced once again. But she had become different for the past months. She became distant and she was constantly on the go. She always left for meetings at the strangest hours and she was rarely with them. Now he could see part of the reason; she was with someone else now.   
She had moved on…but not with him.  
"Um, excuse me," came a voice from behind, "what are you doing behind that bush?"  
He turned around to see the girl that was standing in the front of the house. How did she move so fast? He wondered. She was not very tall but she was certainly fit and had a face to match her fit. She appeared to be eighteen, nineteen with dark hair, big eyes and pale skin. Her eyes were particularly remarkable; they held a certain strength and a certain coolness to them.  
It was fascinating.  
"Uh…my book flew out from my car when a sudden wind hit. It fell here," he lied.  
Her facial expression did not change; how did she do that? "Um, just to let you know," she said mildly, "that bush is like a death trap. A squirrel once crawled under there to escape the neighbour's wrath and let's just say it never saw the light of day again. A tennis ball went in there and when we found it, it was all tangled up and stuff. So my advice is to you is don't try looking for it. It's gone." She shrugged casually, like it was nothing. "You can get up now."  
He got up slowly. The girl had so much control for someone that young; he could see it in her eyes. She gave away no emotion. As a reporter, Will learned to read the expressions of one not by the way they talked but by their actions and most of all, their eyes. The way the blinked indicated whether the speaker was lying and their movements and actions would shadow it. This girl's eyes were impressive and her movements were controlled, almost graceful.   
What was up with that?  
"I guess I can," Will said with a small laugh as he wiped his palms on his tan pants.  
The girl nodded slowly. "Just a tip," she told him, "don't ever leave a book around when driving. The weather's pretty crazy here right now and things just start flying…if you know what I mean." She winked at Will.  
Will felt his cheeks go hot to the bone.  
"Nads! Where did you run off to know?" It was that Vaughn character.  
She started walking out from behind the bushes calmly and coolly, although Will could see that her brow delicately was put down in an annoyed fashion. "I'm right here, Uncle, chill out for a dear nanosecond, will you?" she told him. "I swear, if you keep worrying about Miss Bristow or me like this, you're going to suffer a nervous breakdown before you're forty."  
Will frowned. Why would someone like Vaughn be worried about Sydney?  
"Who were you talking behind there?" Vaughn asked. "Don't tell me you've gone delusional on me as well---"  
"Number One, I am not delusional, I'm simply an idealist," she retorted with a little huff. "And Number Two, I caught this guy spying behind the fern bush." To prove her point, she grabbed a fistful of Will's tan shirt and dragged him from behind the bush and out to the open. His glasses nearly fell from his face as he was released from her grip. But the damage was already done; he was out in the open.  
Vaughn's brows were up in curiosity and suspicion.  
Sydney's jaw dropped in surprise. "W-Will?"  
Now it was the girl's turn to raise her brow delicately. "You know this guy?"  
"He's my friend, a reporter."  
Now the girl turned the raised brow to Will. "Really?" she said melodramatically. "Well, in this case, let me get rid of him. Trust me, it would be my pleasure." She then gave a cryptic smile towards Will and flexed her fingers to prove her point.  
Will bit his lower lip. Somehow, he had a feeling that she wasn't bluffing.  
"No, no, no," Vaughn intervened, pushing the girl away from Will. He gave a short, nervous laugh. "You know, I think we'd best be going now Sydney…you know, work and all. Maybe Will can take you a ride back to your place…we're running late now. Anyways, I'll talk to you later…um, nice to see you again…Will." He gave a curt nod before walking off to a car with the young girl before him.  
Will frowned as he watched them go. What was up with that? He then turned to Sydney. He couldn't help feeling like a wounded puppy. He got a kiss from her months ago and then she leaves it alone all together. What was up with that? Before he could muster up the courage to ask her about the kiss and rest the case altogether, he finds her kissing that guy that doesn't even exist on file.   
There was something going on and he could feel it.  
He cleared his throat abruptly. "Um…so, you need a ride, huh?" 


	8. Levels of Hostility

here's the next chapter---sorry i took so long. there's not a lot of fluff but more serious stuff. a little bit more of nad's past is revealed here and the meeting may not completely make sense, so don't blame me!!! anyways, enjoy, read and review!  
  
  
  
Chapter Seven  
Vaughn was driving down one of the main streets. He was already uptight and the lack of sleep was slowly beginning to creep up in his mind. He would occasionally side glance at the passenger seat beside him where his niece sat, looking out of the window. The window was cranked down and he was suddenly worried that she might fall out or something.  
Stop it, he told himself gruffly, she's no longer seven years old. She's almost twenty and you're still treating her like a seven year old. It's not good to think that way. She's even smarter than you in some areas and mature for someone her age. He sighed. I suppose it's hard on me. Every time Raidon was out on a mission, he would always leave her with him.   
He basically watched her grow up.  
Hell, he was the one who requested training for her in the CIA.  
In short, she was like a daughter that he had never known. He could never replace her father no matter how little time she spends with him but nonetheless he cared for her a great deal. He remembered telling her father years ago when he was just a rookie;  
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her when you're gone on those missions."  
"You sure? I mean, you are quite young and I do not wish to burden you with my daughter---"  
"Never, sir, never a burden."  
"When I return from this mission, I would prefer you call me Raidon."  
"Yes…sir."  
The car suddenly swerved between lanes without thought. Nads yelped in surprise and some cars behind them honked their horns and started yelling at them. It was a very varied speech of vulgar words, but he didn't pay attention. Vaughn swung the steering wheel again and they got back on the same road again.  
"Unc," Nads said slowly, "maybe I should drive. You're tired."  
"I'll be okay," he assured, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "It was just a little slip, besides, we're almost there." Silence drew on between them. "Look, Nadia, I'm sorry for snapping at you back there, in the house. You're right, I'm so tired now---and I'm worried about this entire situation about SD-6 and Sydney. I'm not blaming you, you know…you've been a great help to me throughout this entire time. I know it's cutting you back from your studies though."  
"It's only university," she said with a snort. When Vaughn gave her a wary look, she laughed. "I'm joking---I got it covered. I'm reading as much as I can every night. Do you know how much you have to learn just to get into medical school? Gosh, I'm going to be fifty by the time that I graduate." She sighed heavily. "It's just good to know I can always jump back from that just in case."  
"Are you thinking of staying in the CIA?" he asked seriously. "I mean, you don't have to…"  
"I want to."  
"Oh," Vaughn said, trying not to sound. "You never told us what you did to the hit man."  
Nadia grinned toothily at him. "You'll find out soon enough."  
  
Will and Sydney did not exchange a word during the ride back to her place. Will kept his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road, but he would occasionally sneak a side-glance at Sydney, who was sitting beside him. She looked distant and worried, looking out the window and away from him. It was clear she didn't want to discuss anything with him.  
A million questions were zipping through his mind at the moment. What the hell was going on between her and that Vaughn guy? Sure, it was clear there was something going on that was more than just friendship. Why was he worried about her well-being? Why was there so much secrecy going on around them? When Sydney and Vaughn saw him, there was some kind of emotion that was clear besides disbelief.  
Fear.  
What were they afraid of? Were they afraid of being seen together publicly? Why the closed doors relationship, that is, if they had one going on. And that girl that was with them in front of the house…what was her actual purpose there other than standing watch? It appeared that she was more than just any normal girl on the street. Her face read eighteen or nineteen but her movement and reaction was a lot older than that. She was strange under his reporter eyes.  
Then again, everyone was strange under his eyes.  
Will pulled over in front of Sydney's house and killed the engines. "Sydney."  
"Yes, Will?" she asked demurely, turning to face her friend. There was no sort of nervous emotion present in her eyes. No sort of emotion going on other than some sort of strange patience. That was clearly not present a while ago.   
"What the hell is going on?"  
Sydney was visibly taken aback by his question. Her jaw muscles contracted and her eyes widened. Her lips were pressed together and she brushed her stray strands of hair back. Will had never seen her angry like this before. What truly was going on? All of a sudden, he was seeing things he never saw in Sydney. She was more cool and reserved. What was up with that? "What do you mean, Will?" she asked calmly.  
He hit his palms on the steering wheel in frustration. "God, Syd, don't even think of lying to my face," he told her sharply. "You say you're sick and the next day this guy that I have never seen in my life is in your house. Okay, I'm cool with that. I drive to work and my paper flies and I see you with that guy again. The question is; what's going on between you two?"  
"Nothing," she replied quickly. "We're just friends."  
"And yet you kissed him."  
Her jaw dropped. "So you were spying!" she accused in absolute disgust.  
"I just stumbled upon that!" he cried back in defence. Why was he suddenly so defensive of himself? What was Sydney going to do? Kill him? "I couldn't help it. I didn't know you were there---ah, I get it now. All those late-night meetings and bailing out on Francie and the rest of us…it was because you were meeting up with that Vaughn guy." Vaughn's name came up as a curl of disgust in his voice that he tried to hide. "And this guy---it's like he doesn't exist to society. His files are all locked up or simply not there…why are you hanging around guys like that?"  
Sydney narrowed her eyes at him. Will suddenly saw her anger at what he had done. He realized that he had gone far with the account of his investigation into the life of Vaughn. "Thank you for taking me home," she said icily before getting off the car, slamming the car door shut and storming towards the entrance of her house.  
Will hit the steering wheel again, this time harder. "Damn!"  
  
"She's brilliant, I tell you," Weiss told Vaughn as they walked down the corridors of the Headquarters. "I mean, she's tough and stubborn and cynical but she's brilliant. I guess that's a rub-off from you." He nudged Vaughn manly and grinned like an idiot. "She goes into the warehouse, armed with only one of those high-tech, up to date guns and bam! She was able to catch him single-handedly with no help from the boys outside."  
Nads smiled politely. "It's not that big."  
"Oh yes it is," Weiss said with a big grin. "Weren't you afraid of him?"  
"As in, afraid I'd be splattered into a pancake? Oh course."  
"She's being modest," Weiss told Vaughn, waving dismissively at Nads, who shook her head and walked over for some coffee. "Even the boys are pretty surprised at her capabilities. And she's been on training for how long?"  
"About seven months, I think," Vaughn replied. "But it's taken her out of her classes often."  
"You should think about recommending her as a full field agent."  
"Maybe."  
Weiss grinned again, this time wider. "Well, anyways, the boys have your hit man down in the jail sector downstairs in the basement," he continued. "He's on constant surveillance, but don't worry, we're still feeding him and giving him some air to breathe. We don't want a dead man in there. We're going to get an interrogator and some shrink or something in there sometime after this meeting."  
"I see." Vaughn looked troubled.  
At the same time, they caught up with Jack Bristow and Norman Valenti at the other end of the hallway. They both wore dark business suits and they looked more like conspiring than carrying on a normal conversation. Vaughn felt his hands go cold when he saw Jack Bristow; they weren't exactly on the best of terms at the moment.  
"Ah, Vaughn, Weiss," Valenti greeted, turning to them. "So glad you can join us."  
"Where's Devlin?" Vaughn asked curtly.  
"He had other matters to attend to so here I am," Valenti said with a smile.  
Vaughn fought the urge to groan. Valenti was a pain; he wanted to talk to Devlin personally, not this brass knuckle. This man reminded him of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons but there was something else going on with this guy. Either way, he didn't want to confide with this guy.   
"Where's Sydney?" Jack suddenly asked.  
Vaughn looked at Sydney's father. "Devlin gave the consent to Sydney to return to work."  
"What?" he demanded.  
Beside Vaughn, he heard Weiss squeak deep in his voice. Vaughn cleared his throat. "I was not contacted by Devlin himself," he told Bristow in a cautious voice. He didn't want to get on his bad side, especially today, out of all days. "Weiss here was the one who was given the orders. Anyhow, I will inform Sydney about any new developments to our meeting."  
"Then let's enter, shall we?" Valenti asked, gesturing towards the conference room.  
They filed inside and Valenti closed the door behind them. "Okay, men," he told them, clasping his hands together. "This morning, around 0200, Agent Weiss here picked up something unusual on the SD-6 server. There are some command fluxes that are being sent from an unknown location of Los Angeles. Intelligence division suspects that this may be done by one of the fractions that are---"  
Someone banged at the door.  
Valenti turned to the door. "Who the hell is that?"  
Vaughn turned red and stood up. "Sorry, sir," he murmured, walking over and opening the door. It was Nadia holding a cup of coffee and with an annoyed look on her face. Vaughn motioned for her to enter and not to say a word of protest or in sarcasm for his sake. "Um, sir, you locked out one of the people that should be in this meeting."  
The representative studied Nadia from head to toe. "Have I met her before? A newbie?"  
"Sir, she's not fully a CIA agent---yet."  
"Then why the hell is she here?" Valenti demanded.  
Before Vaughn could reply, Nadia cut in and said, "Because I'm the one who's been keeping tabs on Agent Bristow and whoever is after her. I'm the one who has been gathering up information from all contacts who have come across our little private war with SD-6 and I also happen to be the one who nabbed the hit man that was on Agent Bristow's tail the past two days."  
There was a silence in the room.  
Valenti didn't look pleased but he gestured for her to take her place anyways. Nadia gave Vaughn and Weiss a tight and private smile before taking place at the end of the table. Vaughn sighed; Nadia had saved his rear from being roasted by a senior officer like Valenti.  
Valenti continued as though Nadia had never entered the room and interrupted his little speech. "So there's a flux in their computer grid. Analyses compile that they are sending a series of pulses embedded in these fluxes that are causing their computers' protection from outside hacking. It's making them vulnerable and this is perhaps our time to crash in."  
"Mind you that SD-6 will be monitoring their computer lines carefully," Jack Bristow told them. "Especially since Sydney's nearly blown cover was completely exposed, they'll be busy tightening their security. Sloane is definitely trying to keep things under wraps. If he's worried about a takeover or a Crashdown, he is certainly not showing it."  
"Well, either way---"  
"Mutiny," Nadia murmured.  
All eyes went to the girl that sat at the end of the table.   
"What are you talking about?" Valenti demanded.  
She looked up at them. "Those fractions both external and internal that are against Sloane and SD-6 think that Sloane is a weak leader and they believe that they can do a better job," she explained slowly. "But they can't just go up to the Alliance and say, 'Oh, I think Sloane's a crappy leader, I should head SD-6.' They have to somehow prove to them that Sloane is a faulty head and that he should be ousted. How? They send the fluxes through computer commands. They must have a brilliant guy within SD-6 Headquarters to spread the flux throughout the entire server after receiving it from wherever it is coming from. That way, Sloane will have his hands full and if they send the right amount of fluxes through the server, they might be able to shut down the entire network."  
"What about Sydney?" Bristow asked stiffly. "How does she fit in all this?"  
She nodded slowly, thinking deeply. "Isn't Sydney one of the best in SD-6?" she inquired. "I've read her database---she's an impressive agent for them and she may be considered Sloane's favourite. They must see her as some sort of way or key to get to Sloane. So they send the Incredible Hulk after her to get rid of her as a message to Sloane that something is up and that he's the target. This is one sick game, if you ask me. One very sick cycle," she added.  
Vaughn nodded thoughtfully. "I get it now," he replied huskily.  
"And I'm assuming that they don't really know Agent Bristow's involvement with the CIA so there's the twist," she continued, taking a swig at the beer. "So when our hit man followed Sydney to the warehouse, he must've been thinking who the hell she was meeting at that hour. If he has any idea that she's meddling with the CIA, then I'm afraid our little friend in the basement is a security risk."  
"Yeah," Weiss replied, ruffling his hair back, "I suppose we wouldn't want him telling the Alliance about our agents and we sure as hell don't want him to sell the information to let's say the K-Directorie or maybe SD-6. It'd be like sending Sydney to her own execution parlour." He shuddered at the thought of it.  
But Jack wasn't paying attention to Weiss or anyone else for that matter. His dark eyes were immediately upon Vaughn's fatigue figure. It was obvious that he didn't approve of what happened in the morning when Nadia mentioned the warehouse. In fact, Nadia clenched her jaw when she realized that she slipped up. "What the hell was Sydney doing in the meeting place in the early hours?" he demanded to his handler, his voice stone cold.  
"I have some information to her early this morning," he replied coolly.  
"You idiot!" Jack shouted, bolting to his feet. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you placed on the two of you? You have also exposed Sydney's involvement with the CIA to a hit man! Do you not know about protocol? Do you not know the risks involved with her mission?"  
"This is her life we are talking about!" Vaughn shot back.  
"For a senior agent, you make a lousy handler," Jack accused angrily. His eyes were boiling with an unknown rage that made Weiss back away from the table. Valenti said nothing, watching the argument ensue. "However you got the promotion, I do not want to know but I do know that you do not deserve it in any form of degree. You rush in before you think and you do not think of all of the alternatives and the consequences of doing something."  
"Yes, and thinking of all the alternatives will make things too late to act upon!"  
"You know what, Mr. Vaughn?" Jack asked coldly. "You are inadequate to be a handler. Maybe you're just there to impress my daughter, I don't know---either way, I ought to kick you ass---"  
"Okay, that's enough!" Nadia cried. She was still sitting down, her head facing the ebony table. Her right hand was on the table and it was clear that she was prepared to break the table---or worse. Silence slipped in even between the feuding duo. She looked up at them dangerously that even Valenti stood back from the table. Somehow, they had a feeling that if they pissed her off, there would be damage done. "We're all having a hard day as it is…a hard start, if I may say so. And, Mr. Bristow, Vaughn has already been coached about what has happened. I assure you that it will not happen again."   
Jack was going to snap something at Nadia when Weiss added seriously, "We must not simmer about the past but rather about what we have now. We must deal with the problems now accordingly." He looked towards Valenti. Vaughn was surprised; he usually had some smart-ass comment to remark but today he was relatively serious.  
He was glad for it.  
Valenti cleared his throat and shifted back to his professionalism. "Agreed," he replied non-chalantly. "Now, Agent Vaughn, you will inform Agent Bristow of the latest developments and will order her to help her father drain out whoever is in the receiving end of the computer command fluxes. Agent Weiss, I want you to monitor those fluxes and inform Agent Vaughn about any new changes to the intervals."  
"How about Sydney?" Jack asked. "Do you think it's safe to tell Sloane about this…mutiny?"  
"As long as she doesn't expose how she knows of this information, and if she doesn't reveal us, then we're good," Valenti replied curtly, turning to Nadia. "Agent Nadia---"  
The door suddenly swung open to reveal a skinny technician with an earpiece still connected to his ear. He was clearly oriental with dark hair. He wasn't wearing a jacket and his tie was loosened. His eyes were wide as he said breathlessly, "Sir! Request permission for you to come with me to the basement."  
"Why?" Valenti demanded.  
The young officer told her, "The subject has just woken up. We tried interrogating him but he won't talk. Devlin gave the order for Doctor Tamakawa to check him out. He is already downstairs and ready to begin the second phase of the interrogation---but they need the presence of a senior officer down there before they can actually commence."  
Valenti turned to Nadia. "Well?"  
"Well what?" she stammered, her face gone ash white.  
"You caught the guy," he told her, "don't you want to know what's going on in his mind?" Vaughn could've sworn that Nadia shuddered ever so slightly but nonetheless gave Valenti a nod of participation with sheer determination and confidence. Valenti turned to the others. "You have your orders." He then stalked out of the room.  
Nadia drained her cup and turned to Vaughn. "I'll call you if there's any new developments," she told him as she rushed to the door and shut it behind her. Vaughn watched her silhouette chasing down the street, trying to catch up to Valenti.  
Weiss shook his head. "I feel so damn sorry for her."  
"Why?" Jack Bristow asked curiously as he rose to his feet once again.  
Weiss looked like he was going to laugh and cry at the same time. "For those who have ever seen an actual interrogation---God knows how our crisp and young and brilliant informant will be after it," he told him before following Vaughn out the door. 


	9. Disappearing Acts

sorry i took so long to post it, but here it is. btw, i have no idea how hypnosis works, so....here we go  
  
Chapter Eight  
Sydney walked into Credit Dauphine, dressed in a crisp business suit, trying to look as eager as she could to return to work. Outside, she looked calm and normally ready to tackle anything---the slight bruise indicated her recent illness for them. Inside, however, she felt worried and paranoid with her surroundings. After all, she was entering enemy territory but the feeling had heightened ever since she had found out that she was being followed.  
The fact that someone was watching her from within was scary.  
To add to her moodiness, her argument with Will still crept behind her like some impending storm. She knew that she should've been a little more kinder to him, after all, they'd been friends for over three years, give or take three months. But Vaughn and her own safety was on the line and she couldn't afford that. For Vaughn's sake, she couldn't afford that. But she felt so bad after she had closed the door---she couldn't afford to lose her old friends.  
But she couldn't afford to lose Vaughn, either.  
It was a lose-lose situation.  
She sighed as she entered the actually chambers of SD-6. She walked down the aisle, politely nodding hello and smiling like she did on every other normal day in the office. That is, if she considered her days a normal one.   
Dixon, her partner, walked up to her and smiled, kissing her on both cheeks. "Sydney," he greeted, "it's so good to see you back, up and about. I hope that you're feeling a lot better now." His attention drew towards her cheek. Her bruise was still fairly visible but it was slowly healing. "What happened to your cheek?" he asked, pointing at it.   
"Oh, that," she said with a dismissive wave. "I fell over yesterday morning and slammed my cheek on the night stand. It hurt like a bastard, but it's a lot better now." She smiled at him. God, how she hated to lie to him, her friend. But she had no choice; she had to cover these things up otherwise Sloane would have her head.  
Literally.  
Dixon did not detect the lie, if he had at all. "Well, you can check out in the medical department before you leave," he told her. "Come now---Sloane's called on for another mission and we're meeting in a few minutes."  
She allowed him to lead the way. She carefully followed his steps behind him, at the same time, her eyes wandered to the various cubicles. People were busy on their phones and on the computer and chatting away. It was a quiet and organized work place. Many of the people she knew only by acquaintance but nonetheless, she examined everyone. They all looked so normal.   
This was going to be harder than she initially expected.   
They entered the polished conference room. She already saw Sloane sitting at the head of the table, looking out into space. The moment he saw Sydney enter the room, his face became animate as he sat up straight in his chair. She did a polite nod towards him and she saw a faint smile creep alone his thin lips. She turned away; somehow, she couldn't completely bring herself to returning their working relationship back to the way it was---not since Danny's death.  
Marshall was also seated, fiddling with something. He looked up to see Dixon and Sydney take their seats and smiled. "H-Hey Sydney---Nice to see you, um, around, um, again."  
"Thanks, Marshall."  
"No, um---no problem."  
Sydney was disturbed to find that her father was not in the room. She had assumed that her father would be attending the meeting but it appears he would be late. Maybe he was at the CIA headquarters at the moment, pre-occupied with the latest developments. Or maybe she was conspiring with some unknown sect---God, she sometimes wished that she wasn't in this life. She wished she was living in an ordinary life. She wished she never took that damned white card.  
"Okay," Sloane said, leaning over the table and looking at each member in the eye, "we've gotten a situation here. The computer fluxes have increased randomly from cubicle to cubicle. Half of the computers in the department is non-operatable. Marshall here with explain our situation in a more---detailed outlook." He nodded towards the computer technician.  
Marshall got up. "Um, well, it's pretty simple," he said. "After the power drain security leak a few months back, things haven't been at, um, well, peak efficiency. T-There are various leaks that, um, I have been really, um, trying to…er, plug up. The past month, um, it's gotten um, worse. There's something that---that is hitting our main s-sytems and just, um, crashing nodes. Only a, well, a few are style operating at, well, normal capacity."  
Sydney found her loophole. "Whose computers are still working?" she asked.  
He scratched his head, wincing. "Um…well, Hasina's is um, working. Carl, George, Harriet, Yalila and Ben's are, um, all working…normally," he replied.  
"Thank you, Marshall," Sloane replied thinly. He turned to Dixon and Sydney as Marshall fussed back into his seat. "We have a security breach. This is not good---without our computers, we'll be blind to the outside world. We cannot allow this to break out to the remainder of the network. I have our top technicians deep at work, trying to plug this, but the source of these fluxes are virtually unknown. In the meantime, I want you to check all units personally for anything unusual."  
"We'll do our best," Dixon assured.  
"I know. You are dismissed. Oh, except you, Sydney."  
Sydney gulped slightly as she watched Marshall and Dixon exit the room. She felt her heartbeat quicken and the heat slip away from her face. What did Sloane want to talk to her about? Was it over the slip up the night before? Or was it about something worse? Tell me it's just about the bruise on my cheek, she prayed.  
"Sydney," Sloane said once the door was closed. He leaned over closer and that movement made a chill run down Sydney's spine. What was he up to? What did he want from her? "It's nice to see you up and about again. I admit, it's been pretty quiet around here without your radiant energy bouncing off the walls." She smiled shyly as he continued, "I must stress, you look a little paranoid and a little distressed."  
"Oh," she replied, trying to hide her profound guilt, "it's nothing."  
"You sure about it?" he asked gently, his eyes in direct contact with hers. Sydney felt exposed under his watchful eye as underneath the table she shifted weight with great discomfort. "Because if something is bothering you, you can tell me. You can always tell me."  
She couldn't deal with it. She got up abruptly. "I have to get to work," she told him stiffly. "I missed a lot of stuff for the past two days. I wouldn't want to be kept behind from everything that's been going on." She tried to hide her shaking legs; she was running on pure fear of being exposed. After what happened with being exposed as a mole, she was afraid of slipping up again.  
He leaned back on his desk, folding his fingers on his lap. "Okay," he replied calmly with a gesture of dismissal, a wary smile played on his lips. From there on, she walked as fast as she could out of the conference room.  
  
"Did you find him yet?"  
"We're doing our best---but we found this."  
"What is it, you idiot?"  
"It's a video camera, sir. A small but efficient one."  
"Have you run a DNA test?"  
"Everything sir---no fingerprints whatsoever."  
"How about the component match?"  
"Nothing we've ever seen, sir."  
"So I'm assuming he's been caught---hmm, Sloane, what are you up to?"  
"Um…sir?"  
"Well, don't just stand there, you fool, keep searching for Folken!"   
  
"Sir?" Marshall asked, sticking his head into the office of Sloane.  
Sloane looked up in mild surprise from a report he was reading, but his expression turned into exasperation when he saw that it was only Marshall. He lifted his free hand and gestured his head technician to enter the office. Marshall bumbled in, shutting the door behind him. Sloane in return placed the report down.  
"Yes, Marshall, what can I do for you?" Sloane asked professionally.  
Marshall nodded quickly. "I was just updating our server and contacting some…you know, uh, some buddies of mine for some, you know, updates," he explained. "Someone's asking questions about, you know, the entire grid, particularly of some profiles of the….the agents here in SD-6."  
This seemed to upset Sloane but he kept it bottled up. "Who is this…inquirer?"  
"Some guy n-named Will Tippin…a reporter."  
Sloane's eyes widened. "Sydney's friend…"  
"Y-Yes sir…"  
Sloane nodded and swerved his chair around so Marshall wouldn't see him ponder on the thought. He had already reluctantly ordered the death of Sydney's fiancé, Daniel Hecht, because he was a security leak to SD-6's welfare and now Sydney's friend, the reporter, was sticking his nose in matters that did not concern his. He did not wish to hurt Sydney again but the agency came first, as always. He must straighten out this reporter's curiosity once and for all.   
Sloane cleared his throat. "Thank you for informing me of this, Marshall."  
"You…You're welcome, sir." He then left the room.  
Sloane sat there for a full minute, his fingers pressing against each other in silent thought. He did not wish to do this, but he had to do what was best for the agency. He would have to explain it to Sydney later on…if she ever found out.  
He picked up the phone on his table. "Harrison…you know what to do."  
  
"Will," his boss called as she walked up to his cubicle.   
Will looked up, his brow furrowed in a frown. He was busy typing away on his laptop and was at first annoyed to hear someone even call his name. After seeing what he saw that morning, he was really to go up and rip someone's throat out. When he saw his boss's annoyed face, he quickly dropped the pissed off act before he got fired.  
That's what he was missing---getting fired. That way, his day would be perfect.  
"Um…yes, ma'am?" he asked as sweetly as he could.  
She dumped a file onto Will's table, making his papers fly off the table. "What the hell did you give me this morning?!" she demanded.  
"Um…my article?"  
"A piece of crap is what you gave me," she snapped back angrily, slamming her palm onto the folder. She lifted the article and displayed it to him. "I mean, look at it! Look at it! It looks like a two year old's writing! No emotion! No strength! No soul!" She dropped it back onto Will's table and glowered down at him. "I want this retyped and handed back in by four this afternoon otherwise I will kick your butt, William Tippin, out that door and you can kiss your reputation bye-bye!"  
"Y-Yes ma'am," Will replied dryly.  
His boss turned around, shaking her head. "Where are these kids going to these days."  
Will mocked her movements as she exited the working place, grumbling to herself. He then sulked on his seat. No soul…no soul? He's show her soul. Maybe I should write the biography of my life, he thought sullenly. Then she'd understand how much soul he had going on in his mind. And she would also realize how much bad luck I've gotten over the last three years.  
He sighed. God, I hate my life, he thought to himself.  
He didn't realize that someone had approached his desk. He looked up, ready to snap, when he saw that it was Jenny. She looked visibly concerned as she sat down in front of him. "I heard what the Boss said," she told him. "She doesn't look like a happy champ today."  
"When is she ever?" he asked, brushing back his blonde hair. "God, Jenny, how could I have been such a screw-up these past few years? Then again, these problems started coming up ever since Danny proposed to Sydney and then got murdered…" His voice trailed off when he saw Jenny's eyes. He sighed heavily. "Jenny, I just don't know what to do anymore, I don't know how to deal."  
He was surprised when Jenny reached across the table and took his hand. "Tell you what," she said, "you need a break. A break from all this." She gestured around in the office. "I'm visiting my brother in San Francisco. You want to come with me?" She smiled and batted her long and delicate lashes. "I swear to you it'll be fun."  
Will thought for a moment. It was a very tempting offer and he needed to get away from everything here in Los Angeles. He needed some time to think about everything that had happened the past few months and saw this as the perfect opportunity. What could go wrong? What could he lose? But there was something in his way.  
"How do I get the Boss to clear me out?"  
She smirked. "Leave that up to me, Will." She then kissed his cheek and ran towards the office with an excuse in mind.  
  
The hit man was in a room, seated across a long table in a small but clean room. He was handcuffed to the chair so he wouldn't attack anyone or try to escape. His eyes were dull as he was under the doctor's trance. Doctor Tamakawa was a short and aging doctor but despite his outward appearance, he was brilliant and his skills were still sharp.  
Nadia had never witness a hypnosis until now and she stood behind the glass. Beside her, Valenti stood with a permanent scowl imprinted on his weathered face. She had never seen a man scowl so much in her life. He must be worried, she thought. Then again, so am I. Here I am, witnessing an attempt to glimpse into a murderer's mind---considered that he is one. She shuddered again.  
The young officer was introduced as Agent Jason Lee. He was a junior officer who just got into the CIA about a year or two ago and appeared nice and ambitious. He was also a good three to four years old than her. He was currently stationed doing minor things such as surveillence and paperwork but he didn't mind. She had wished she had a job like his, doing the simple work. Instead, she was out doing the dangerous things.  
Lee had already gotten into a nasty dispute with Valenti and he was now keeping his mouth shut aside from an update from Tamakawa. Nadia had settled the bitter dispute with a simple quip but there was still hostility in the air. Nadia tried hard to ignore it as she stood behind Lee's seat, watching Tamakawa at work.   
"He is completely in hypnosis," Tamakawa announced in a calm voice. Indeed he was for the hit man looked dazed yet attentive. He didn't look drugged but he didn't look lively, either. Either way, he still looked like he could splat anyone into a pancake.  
Lee turned to Valenti, who nodded stiffly.   
"What is your name?"  
"Martin Donovan."  
Lee typed it down on the computer nearby.  
"Who hired you?"  
No reply. The hit man---Martin---just blinked. Tamakawa looked at them from the other room.  
Nadia frowned as Valenti grunted, "Don't tell me he doesn't know who he works for."  
Tamakawa sighed and leaned forward. "Who do you work for?"  
Martin made some sort of gurgling sound. "I am a mountain…I am a valley…I am…"  
"Crap, the guy's been trained," Valenti cursed. "I knew they wouldn't give that much away just like that. Hey, kiddo," he called Lee, "tell Tamakawa to ask him for details regarding the fractions' plan to take over SD-6."  
Lee quickly relayed the message to the doctor, who nodded and then turned back to the hypnotized hit man. He tugged at his tie; he was obviously feeling the pressure from Valenti and the agency in general. His hand shot out and drained the cup of coffee on the desk. "Martin, do you know of any plans regarding your superiors taking over SD-6?" he asked curtly.   
"No."  
Valenti cursed again.  
"Martin," Tamakawa pressed, "why were you sent after Sydney Bristow?"  
"To…eliminate her."  
"Why, Martin?"  
"To pave the way…"  
"For whom?"  
No response.  
Valenti said nothing as Lee typed away the conversation. Nadia watched intently, her eyes narrowed at what was going on in the room in front of them. This was pretty tense and Nadia was rigid at the entire situation. She was so focused on the entire thing that she didn't even realize that Lee was watching her stare into the other room.   
"Hey," Lee said gently, "ease up."  
She blinked and looked at Lee in surprise. "Why?"  
"If you look any harder, you'll turn into a statue."  
That brought a small grin on Nadia's lips.  
"Martin," Tamakawa inquired, "who is the mole in SD-6?"  
No response.  
Valenti swore again and Nadia and Lee rolled their eyes. This was going to be a long session.  
  
"I think I should tell him."  
Sydney was sitting in the church, facing the altar. She remained in her business attire as she had called in to find out the meeting place. Apparently, Vaughn had chosen a church. In front of her in the next pew sat Vaughn, his dress shirt and tie covered by a Nike spring jacket. She didn't mind sitting behind him, but she hated not seeing his face.  
Maybe this was part of his plan.  
This caught him by surprise. "What? Who?"  
"I think I should tell Sloane about the other fractions against him," she whispered. Although the church was virtually silent, their voices carried easily. She kneeled on the bench and lifted her hands, pretending to be praying. Vaughn, bless his heart, moved a bit to his right to give her some breathing space. "I mean, I can't hide this forever. Sooner or later, he's got to know."  
"Unless he already knows."  
"Vaughn, he has absolutely no idea where those fluxes are coming from," she told him earnestly. "He's got Marshall on the case, but even he's having a hard time. These fractions are good at what they do. Anyways, I got a handful of people that I think may be the receiver of these command codes. I'm going to tell my father and we'll both drain him---or her---out."  
"Sounds like a plan."  
"Yeah," she replied, "but you still haven't approved it."  
"Approved what?"  
She couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Me telling Sloane about these fractions trying to kill me," she told him. "If I tell him, that may make him psyche enough to protect me a little more. No more hit mans like that guy last night."  
"But then guys like me won't be able to keep in contact." He looked at her ruefully.  
She looked back at him and smiled for a brief moment. This brought a cryptic smile on his lips, a similar one to Nadia's. She suddenly realized how much the two had in common; the cryptic smiles, the positions they take when they're standing and talking, they way they argue. It was like a miniature Vaughn in the making---only in a female form.  
"Look, I know it'll be tough," she told him, "but I'll make sure the CIA will find out what's going on---you can count on that." She gave him another re-assuring smile at him. It made him feel a bit better and his eyes show that much to her. Again, just like early this morning, she found herself captivated by his eyes and he couldn't help kissing him.  
He accepted the kiss openly. He was the one who released the kiss and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I know you'll find a way," he told her breathlessly as he turned back towards the altar. He then gave her a smile. "You always do."  
"I take it that I can tell him?"  
"Well, if it's like recruiting Sloane into helping us at the same time, why not?" he asked. "I'm sure that Devlin and the agency would approve it. As long as you don't sell us away or open the door to us, we're okay with it."  
She smiled back at him before asking, "Do you think this can work out?"  
"What?"  
She gestured to herself and him. "You know, you---me---the entire thing."  
He sighed heavily. She could figure out that this issue had been in his mind for some quite time now. And she knew that the answer was going to weigh heavily on both of their hearts. It was already smothering hers. "You know what it says about this," he replied slowly. "I can't do some office romance, falling for my employees, that sort of thing. We can't be seen in public, you and I both know that. It's risky as it is with SD-6 informants lying around, but with other fractions involved? It's too risky."  
"Says the man who was lectured by his younger niece about risks."  
He turned red and looked down.   
She sighed. "What's the story with her? How come she lives with you?"  
He nodded slowly. It was time to tell the story. "Well, Nadia's father is an old mentor of mine," he explained. "My old boss. I was the family's friend. Whenever Raidon was on trips and missions, which he was frequently on, Nadia would stay in either her mother's place or my place. Since the mother is constantly busy nowadays, she's always at my place. Well---if she's around the area or doing some stuff at HQ, she'd be at my place. Otherwise she'd be at her dorm, studying."  
Sydney's watch started to beep. She quickly glanced at it. "I've got ten minutes before my lunch break ends," she informed him with a sigh of regret. She wanted to stay with him in this church for a little longer period of time.  
"Yeah, I got to get going too."  
As Sydney was beginning to get up, something caught her arm. She looked down to see that Vaughn had grabbed her arm. It was pretty neat as he drew her close for another kiss. It was like a dream of some sort that she was living or like a movie scene that she was watching.   
Someone cleared their throat from behind.  
They broke the kiss to see a priest standing before them, watching them with a serious look. He was clad in black from head to toe and carried a rosary tangled in his fingers. "Hello, children," he greeted with a flat tone of voice. But the peculiar expression on his face did not match the tone of his voice. "Are you here for confession or are you here for marriage counselling?"  
Vaughn and Sydney looked at each other, alarmed, but said nothing. 


	10. New Twists and Turns

surprise, surprise! i'm not dead! i had my exams and plus, my comp went through a lot of reformatting and stuff, so here it is, my early valentine's gift from me to you...another chapter! ^^ R&R!  
  
  
Chapter Nine  
She had never seen so many people come into their quaint little town all in one day.  
They had arrived this afternoon, three black cars all pulling up in front of their local motel. Men and women came out dressed entirely in black and serious expressions on their faces as they started trooping into the building. They looked like they came straight out of those spy movies and TV shows. But this was different.  
This was real.  
She decided to abandon daydreaming in her bedroom window and creep out the door. She was of mature age but she felt like a child hiding behind the motel, watching the strangers walk up and down, and taking steel briefcases and other equipment inside. They looked fragile and sensitive judging by the way they held the boxes and crates.  
What was their business up here? She wondered. There's nothing up here in the Yukon. It's all trees and the cold and mountains. There's nothing here that people like these would want. Then again, I could be wrong. With a defiant flip of her bronze hair, she crept into the motel and pretended to act normal like every other townsperson.  
There was a tall and pale man standing over Old Bernie, the owner of the motel. He had pale blonde hair and pale skin to match the colour. He looked empowering over the old man as he flipped off his black sunglasses and placed it in his inside jacket pocket. From what she could see, the man had stone cold gray eyes that matched his suspicious look. He was clearly not pleased.  
"There are only twenty rooms," Old Bernie was explaining from behind the counter. "What you're asking for is simply impossible."  
"Make it possible." His voice was just as cold as his eyes.  
"I'd love to, Mister," Old Bernie replied hotly, wiping his thick glasses, "but this old motel simply cannot accommodate so many of your people. This building will simply exhaust itself. Unless your people care to share rooms---let's say, six per room? A little cramp, but that's the best I can do." He shrugged helplessly.  
The man leaned over across the counter. "Then do better," he hissed, flipping something from his jacket pocket. "I'm a branch from the CIA known as the MSS." Old Bernie shuddered when he mentioned the CIA. MSS? She wondered. Who are they? She pretended to flip through some magazines and listen to the conversation. "So you better do something before I call up some of my jurisdiction."  
Old Bernie wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "I'll see what I can do."  
As the old man walked away, the supposed agent looked around the room, his steel eyes resting upon her for a brief moment before walking off. She sighed in relief---his stare was just too weird on her. As soon as he was out of sight, she started running off to a secluded area near the woods. There she pulled out a cell phone and started dialling like crazy to the one person who may know what was going on…  
…And that person just happened to live in Los Angeles.  
  
The interrogation was going nowhere.  
Valenti had left the room for the ninth time over the past three hours to grab the twentieth cup of coffee for the day. Nadia had peeled off her bulky jacket and had tossed it aside as she had taken a seat beside Lee and watched intently, waiting for a moment for the hit man to crack. She sipped from her fifth cup of coffee that morning but she was getting sleepy by the moment.  
"You know," Lee said quietly, "too much caffeine is bad for you."  
"Look who you're talking to," she quipped back cynically, glancing at him warily. "I'm studying to be a doctor. You shouldn't lecture me. Besides," she added with a defiant swig at the coffee cup, "I need the energy. I'm not exactly hyper-active right now."  
"You're the boss."  
She paused for a moment. "Aren't you higher-ranking than I am?" she asked with a perplexed look.  
He gave a side-glance of his own as he was busy typing out the transaction in the following room. "Yeah, I think I am," he replied huskily, "but you caught the guy, so you're entitled to somewhat of what to do with him. And you did enter here with a senior officer from a senior meeting." The last words dropped down flat and made her wonder.  
"Are you jealous?"she asked suddenly.  
He glared at her, surprised. "Me? I just met you!"  
"True, but you saw me in a senior's meeting…something a rookie like me can't get into."  
He gave her a demure look and turned away. "You must be important, then."  
"To few people, yeah."  
Tamakawa came over the system, sounding tired and frustrated through his thick accent. "You know, I am running out of questions to be asked. He is not cooperating. His training is much more advanced than we initially thought."  
"Valenti is not going to like to hear that," Nadia remarked with a sigh of frustration. This was going nowhere. They were stuck and although Nadia could try tapping in to the SD-6 server, but that would take time and not to mention a big risk of being routed back through some of their top technicians. She had read the report made by Sydney Bristow earlier in the new year and was particularly intrigued by their computer scientists and technicians. "I'd keep that to yourself, Doc."  
Tamakawa nodded wearily and turned away once again.  
"Take a break, Doc," Lee told the weary doctor with a bit of mercy. "You need it."  
Tamakawa nodded again and slipped out of the room, leaving the hypnotized Martin Donovan in the room, guarded by some security agents. Lee then turned to Nadia, who was pressing her fingers to her temples. She looked just as frustrated as everyone else, and although he was out of the loop, he could tell that it was important to knock the information out his or her captive. She didn't look more than four years under his own age and she didn't appear to be a regular CIA agent and here she was looking like the fate of the world rested on her hands.  
What was going on?  
"What's the next strategy????" he asked seriously, pulling off the earpiece and tossing it onto the table were papers and transcripts were littered like crazy. He brushed his hair back expertly and looked at her warily. Although it was only eleven in the morning, he looked like he had been there for hours on end. It was affecting their brains.   
"How about the good old fashion kick it out of him for strategy?" she asked sardonically.  
He couldn't help smiling. "I doubt it'd work now---"  
Someone's cell phone went off. Both of them checked their cell phones immediately. Nadia went to her hip and pulled out her trusty cell phone. She expected Vaughn's name to be on the screen but the caller ID read "Anna" and it appeared to be a long distance call. She looked up to Lee, who pocketed his cell phone away. "I won't be long," she told him earnestly.  
She then got up and left the room.  
He watched her leave.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know you're home today, Francie," Will said as he was busy packing at his place. "Yes, yes, and I know that you're still suffering from jet lag but I want you to tell Sydney when she comes home from work that I won't be home." He tossed some underwear into the overflowing suitcase and tried shutting it while holding the phone on his shoulder.  
"Why? Where are you going? What's happened while I was gone?"  
Will didn't want to repeat the series of events the past few days. The entire argument this morning still made him shake in anger and jealousy. He wanted to get down on his knees and show Sydney just how much he cared. Life just wasn't fair on him!!! He sighed heavily as he told Francie, "Look, I just need some time out from here. I'm taking a vacation to San Francisco."  
"A vacation," Francie snorted derisively. "That's only like, a hour away from here!"  
"So?"  
"Who's going with you? Oh, lemme guess, cheerleader girl!"  
Will felt his hands go wet as he snapped his fingers onto the clasp. It missed its intended target and the suitcase went flying open, his clothes going all over the place. His underwear fell onto his head as he tried hard not to groan in frustration. "Of course not," he lied hotly as he started tossing this clothes back in again starting with the pair of briefs on his head.   
"Remember what happened to Pinocchio when he lied?"  
"Sure," Will replied, knowing it was way off topic. "His nose grew longer."  
"Well, that'll happen to you, Will," she shot back huffily, not trying to hide her momentary disgust. "I know that little cheerleader got you into this entire idea of a vacation. Well, go right ahead, mister. You will not be missed from this little end of California." She ended the little speech with another huff of indignation.  
Will sighed again, more wearily. "Look, Francie, can you just tell her?"  
"Sure, I'll tell her, I'm sure it'll break her heart."  
Not really since she got someone to fill it for her, Will thought bitterly but did not say it out loud. He didn't want to embarrass himself nor Sydney---like that was going to help solve his never-ending problems. It was a convenience to Sydney and a pain for Will. "Whatever," he snapped gruffly at the thought. "Just tell her."  
"Okay, okay, geez."  
"I'll talk to you when I get back."  
"Um…okay…"  
Will hung up before Francie could say anything more. This was all an embarrassment that he needed to get away from, at least for a few days. Jenny's offer was the perfect opportunity to sit back and relax and take in the view. Sure, Jenny was expecting him to be spending some "quality time" with her, but what the hell? He could still contemplate on his impending misery.  
He pressed his hands down on his suitcase again, part of the energy coming from his frustration. His life was really out of order and he had to do something about it. He sighed and tried clipping the suitcase again. He missed the lock and the case opened again with the clothes flying all over the place once more. Once again, the same pair of briefs landed on his head.  
He took off the briefs from his head with the utmost care and looked at it sardonically before throwing it angry out the window.   
  
His phone rang.  
Weiss looked up from the sudden distraction. He was busy scanning the computer outlooks coming in and out from SD-6 like waste disposals. It was a very annoying job, just watching all the information coming in and out in hopes that he would catch a blip on its way to the main server. Someone like Nadia should be doing this, he thought ruefully. She's a lot better than I am.  
He picked up the receiver. "Weiss."  
"It's Paul."  
"Paul who?" Weiss demanded, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I know lots of Pauls. There's Paul my cousin, Paul the head manager of that delicious restaurant, there's Paul that does service in the church, there's that idiot Paul who always drives too early in the morning with beer in his hand…"  
"I think I got the idea, Eric," Paul replied tersely. "It's Paul down at the Undercover Intel."  
"Ohh…. hi Paul."  
"Um, right. Anyways, I had to give you a heads-up on something."  
"What is it?" Weiss asked, leaning forward on his desk and dropping his voice.  
He heard a click, click, and click in the background. "Well, I was running a usual routine on the computer system," he told Weiss, "when I came across some weird data stream information. I didn't see this yesterday---and the information is dating back to yesterday as well. I checked them out-it appears that someone is trying to locate one of the CIA agents here."  
"Which agent?"  
"Agent Michael Vaughn."  
"Damn!" Weiss cried. "Who the hell is inquiring?"  
"Some journalist…named…" Click, click, click. "A Will Tippin."  
Weiss groaned. Of course…a journalist. This was the last thing that he needed to think about, especially since everyone was out doing something. He couldn't contact Vaughn and give him a heads up…he was busy having a meeting with Sydney on the latest developments. He couldn't contact Nadia because both she and Valenti was busy trying to get some information out of their hit man. Jack Bristow was busy trying to drain out the mole in SD-6.  
Where was the world coming to?  
"Thanks for the tip, Paul. Got to go now."  
"Um, right---"  
Weiss hanged up from Paul before phoning in another division. He sighed; Vaughn was going to owe him big time for what he was about to do. "Yeah, it's Weiss…get an agent to cover someone…yeah, yeah, I know, I owe you…all right already! No, he's not a target…just…. okay! Geez, yes, yes, I know that already!" He groaned. "Yeah, the guy's name is Will Tippin."  
  
Hasina Mekiva.  
Carl Ubertin.  
George Jackson.  
Harriet Wilkinson.  
Yalila McGregor.  
Ben Cardinal  
Those were the names of the people whose computers were still operational in the SD-6 office. Jack scanned the list down once and thought about it for a moment. He cancelled out Ben and Harriet; both of them were on vacation leave, whatever that meant in SD-6. He also ruled out George because he hadn't appeared in the office lately due to the fact that he was fighting a nasty flu.  
That left him with Carl, Yalila and Hasina.   
He looked up from his desk to watch the three suspects. Yalila was coming back from her lunch break and was walking over to her desk. Yalila was a tall woman with flaming red hair and a tight face. Her green eyes did not sparkle like others but instead held a certain dullness. She was unlike every other woman in the entire cell; she seemed suspicious. A recently acquired agent, Jack considered her as a possible suspect.  
He turned to his right to see Carl busy at his desk, talking to another fellow agent. He was a tall man with olive skin and dark, curly hair. He had dark circles under his eyes like a raccoon, but his eyes appeared bright and alert. His eyes darted about, as if someone was watching him from afar. Jack had talked to him once before his promotion and Jack didn't know where he placed his thoughts about the guy. He gave him a chilling feeling as his rationalism told him that it was odd for this young man to be promoted so quickly. Jack had earned that position after years of digging in. Carl was definitely a suspect.  
He finally saw Hasina walk from the front doors. She was a short woman with dark skin and thick makeup. Her long hair was coiled up into a tight bun on her head as she was fiddling with the jacket of her suit. She wasn't athletic but she was bright and she read between the lines. She wasn't popular amoung the other agents and she was often alone in everything. Maybe she was plotting against her fellow agents? He considered her a suspect as well.  
He looked at his list. This isn't going to be easy, he realized. All of them have attributes that pointed them to be the receiver of the message. He groaned. He would rather be doing some other mission than this. He wished Sydney was here; this was something that she could do a lot better than him. After all, she interacted more with these agents that himself because he was a senior officer.  
He also had that strange feeling that many people feared him.  
Where was Sydney anyways? He looked at his watch. There was only a few more hours before he was suppose to go home and they still had a lot of ground to cover between the three suspects. He needed a little more support if he were to finish doing his rounds and report back to the CIA. Devlin was a little anxious about everything that was going on with fractions against their main target. Ever since that maniac McKenas, Devlin was becoming uptight about whatever other people were out there that were planning for revenge.  
This scared Jack quite a bit. Unfortunate for him, little scared him these days.  
The doors opened to the workroom and in strolled Sydney. About time, he thought. What took her so long? Maybe there were a lot of things her handler had to say in the matter of what was going on…then again; he always had a lot to say to her. The man was love-struck, a hopeless romantic. She appeared a little shaken and if not mistaken embarrassed in his opinion. Her eyes met his and he gave her a brief nod. She began to walk towards him.  
"What's up, Dad?" she asked softly.  
He passed along the paper with the names of his suspects. "I've narrowed down the list that you gave me," he told her softly, trying not to look too conspicuous. "I can't narrow down them further."  
"So you're hoping they'll slip?"  
"They were trained to be the best," he replied wearily. "I doubt they'll slip."  
"Well, I'll keep an eye out for them."  
"Where are you going?" he asked, suddenly alert and afraid for what she was going to do.  
She gave him an odd look. "To talk to Sloane."  
Jack felt his hands go cold. "Why?"  
"To recruit his help." 


	11. Unsolved Mysteries

Okay, folks, yes, this is the next chapter. ^^ and no, i did not fall down some hole ^~  
  
Chapter Ten  
"Brilliant light…oh so bright…"  
When Valenti returned, he found Donovan not buckled to the chair but was now rocking back and forth. His face was buried and there was a platter of food in front of him, only half eaten. At least they've thought of feeding him, Valenti thought crudely. Tamakawa had left the room for a brief moment, sweating from the frustration and pressure.  
"What's wrong with him?" he demanded to Jason.  
Jason turned to face Valenti, his eyes wide with confusion. "I don't know, sir," he replied in a dry voice. "When you left, Tamakawa tried to get some more information before I called it breaks for now. He ate a bit of some of the stuff we got from the café here before starting to rock back and forth like that." He gestured helplessly at him. "I called for Barnett to get here as fast as she could…but she is taking a century to get here…"  
"Lights…lights…extinguish light…squander the elites…"  
"What the hell is he babbling about?" Valenti demanded.  
"I don't know, sir…"  
"Well, try!"  
Donovan continued to mumble to himself, babbling uncontrollably.  
Just then, Doctor Tamakawa entered the room in a hurry to see Donovan in his state. He quickly pulled on the earpiece that lay on the desk and looked at the window where Valenti and Jason were standing and arguing in. "Barnett told me about it. Geez, what the hell do I do now?" he demanded.  
"You're the shrink, dammit, not us," Valenti said wryly, "just ask some questions."  
Tamakawa tugged at his collar and bent over to Donovan, who was still rocking back and forth. Many theories came to mind at why he was suddenly acting like he was cracking up. Of course, that was not the official term, but Tamakawa supposed that his work was beginning to show a little bit of progress. Unfortunately, he didn't know whether it was him or the hypnosis that was doing this. Nonetheless, he had to wrap this up quickly.   
"Donovan," he said slowly, "what are you talking about?"  
Donovan looked around, his eyes glazed over. "Bright lights…eliminate targets…squander the elites…prove the leader down…take him out…kick him out…bring down the domain and prove him wrong…crucify him! Crucify him!"  
At the same time, Nadia entered the room, her face all pink.  
"Where were you?" Valenti demanded.  
She yanked him a distance away from Jason, who was busy trying to understand what Donovan was babbling about. "I just got a call from my informant in the Yukon," she told him in a low voice. "There's some movement going on up there. She said about twenty people just arrived this afternoon in black cars carrying various pieces of equipment. She also said something about being in the CIA."  
"What?!" Valenti cried. "There is no operation going on right now in the Yukon as far as we are concerned! Who the hell would authorize something like this…???"  
"They mentioned being in the MSS."  
"We have no MSS here!" he cried incredulously.   
"Precisely," she concurred flatly, her expression grim. "I think it's the alliance, sir, or someone working with our enemies." She sighed and flung her hands out in frustration. "I don't know what they're doing up there or what they want up there, but whatever it is, it isn't good." She shook her head vigorously. "What's up with Donovan?"  
"He's gone whacked."  
"You better make Tamakawa terminate this little thing…now." Her grim expression slowly grew into concern. "The hypnosis may be getting to him…" She calmly looked out to the other room where Tamakawa was pressing on with some questions. She also observed Donovan carefully, his lips moving like a madman. "What is Donovan saying anyways?"  
"Something about bright lights, bringing down the leader, scattering the elites and proving something to someone," Valenti said with a shrug and a defiant look. "I think he is seriously losing it. You're right…I think we should terminate this right now…"  
"Wait!" Nadia walked up quickly and took an extra headgear and adjusted the mic to her lips. Jason turned to Valenti for some initial support but in return, got a shrug of confusion. "Tamakawa, ask Donovan now about Sydney Bristow and what he was supposed to do and why," she told him in a quick, breathless voice.  
"But we tried!" Valenti protested.  
Nadia raised a hand calmly. "Hang on."  
"Donovan," Tamakawa said wearily, "why did you try to eliminate Sydney Bristow."  
"Elite…suspicions around her…bring message to leader…"  
"Donovan, who do you work for?"  
"One in twelve, twelve in one…one in twelve, twelve in one…"  
Valenti grabbed the headgear from Nadia and told Tamakawa, "Terminate this interrogation."  
"Sir?"  
"Just do it!" he spat, throwing the headgear to the table. Jason winced and ran to check it out whether it had any damages. As Tamakawa set to work, Valenti turned back to Nadia, who was massaging her ear from Valenti's sudden movement. "What exactly was that supposed to prove anyhow?" he demanded to her.  
"He's babbling," she said slowly, "the words he's using…it fits the situation."  
"What do you mean?"  
"He just confirmed that eliminating Sydney was to "prove a point" and that they wanted to "throw him out" and "crucify him" which obviously is referring to Sloane," she continued. "He refers to Sydney as an elite and that by killing her, they…whoever is his boss…would bring out a message to Sloane, which proves that theory."  
"One in twelve, twelve in one?" Jason asked.  
"That, I may have to look into," Nadia replied, "if Agent Valenti would let me."  
"Please do," he said wearily, wiping his forehead with a tissue. "I am getting too tired for this."  
At the same time, Donovan snapped back to his old self, his glazed eyes returning to his fiery features. "Where the hell am I? What am I doing here? What happened?" he shouted as Tamakawa slipped out of the room and two guards came in to replace him. "What the hell? Come back here, you big doughnut! I'm not done with you."  
"Sir," the guard said flatly, "please finish the meal."  
Donovan looked down at his half-eaten plate, picked it up and threw it at the guards. The guards dodged the throw and the food covered the door. "Hell no!"  
As the guards went over to calm him down, the door flung open and in came Weiss. He was tired and sweating from his plight down the staircase. He also looked terribly distressed. Valenti remained impassive for he too, was too tired to snap at anyone. Jason was still busy fidgeting at the headgear that it was only Nadia who looked up and asked, "What's up?"  
"There's this guy," Weiss said breathlessly, "inquiring about Vaughn's files."  
"Who?"  
"This journalist…a Will Tippin?"  
Nadia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose while Weiss steadied his breathing and his balance. "Vaughn told me about him," she said slowly after a while of thinking. "He met him the day before or somewhere around that time. He said he didn't really like Vaughn, like he was overly possessive of Sydney or something like that. Go figure this guy would be snooping around for stuff about Uncle."  
Weiss shrugged. "I got someone on his case. If he makes wrong move…" He trailed off.  
Valenti sighed and got to his feet. "We can't do a lot now," he finally said wearily. "I'll go speak to Devlin, see if he can give us some more guidance. Jason, watch our little rebel in there. Weiss, keep watching those spikes in SD-6's server…Nadia, check out what your contacts know about the Alliance and try to figure out this 'one in twelve, twelve in one' business."   
"Yes, sir," they all murmured.  
  
"How are things going?"  
"According to plan, sir."  
"Good, good…Sloane will be in for a terrible surprise."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Have you found Folken?"  
"Still searching, sir."  
"Well, hurry!"  
"Yes sir."  
"We must do this quickly…before others catch on…"  
  
Sloane's expression was unreadable.  
Sydney sat before Sloane across his great glassy, her hands folded neatly on her lap to avoid shaking and fidgeting nervously. She was indeed nervous---the outcomes of this was either she won his support of be killed for some high ordered treason. This scared her; she had been downstairs in the 'Conversation Room' once before and she didn't want to see it again for as long as she lived.  
She wondered how her father was doing checking out with Hasina, Yalila and Carl. She didn't personally know them but she had some reference to them from time to time. She wondered how Weiss and that strange girl Nadia were doing trying to locate their dilemmas. She knew that they were trying their very best. Her thoughts eventually led to Vaughn. She wondered how he was doing when realization struck her. Of course he'd be trying to find a way to get Sydney out of this mess. He was always trying to save her.   
How sweet, she thought.  
"Hmph."  
She blinked away from her daydreams and looked at her boss. He was now musing to himself, his facial expression shifting slightly to an extent of discomfort. She could tell that Sloane was clearly not pleased at what had happened and he was certainly determined to keep his emotions under check. It was clear though that he didn't want this to go unpunished.  
"Sir?" she asked questioningly.  
"This is a grave situation you've brought to me, Sydney," Sloane said gruffly, leaning over his desk, folding his fingers. His expression shifted to unclear dubiousness. "I'm surprised you didn't bring this to my attention sooner."  
Sydney swallowed. "I just thought I could shake them off on my own…"  
"Nonetheless, now that you have made me aware of this matter," he continued, "we must act accordingly. There is a security leak amoung the agents…we must find this leak and plug it up as fast as we could before they spread some deep issues towards whomever it is they are working for. You say that they are intercepting those unknown fluxes and spreading them throughout our server…I'll have Marshall begin to block these fluxes as soon as possible." He walked over and looked at Sydney seriously. "Sydney, I want you to smoke out this person. I don't care how…just make sure it's done. I'll have security be watching out for our person as well."  
Sydney stood up. "Yes, sir."  
Before she could leave, Sloane took Sydney's ice-cold hands. "And Sydney," he said, "good job."  
Sydney nodded, too confused, and left.   
  
Jack was passing by Sloane's office on his way to the computer room when he saw the last transaction between Sydney and Sloane. Jack stopped for a moment and remembered that Sydney was going to tell Sloane about the mysterious person gunning after Sydney. He thought for a moment that Sloane might ship her off from being crazy and decided to check it out for a while.  
Sloane took Sydney's hand and had a sincere look on his face.  
At first, Jack felt the urge to charge in and pick a fight with Sloane himself. He supposed that was the parent in him boiling at the way Sloane looked and acted with Sydney, as if he was her father. Oh, he could feel his temperature rise…but then he forced his own training and discipline upon his raging emotions. He trusted Sydney and he knew Sloane all too well---and he was a trained CIA agent who was weathered with experience.   
He pretended to re-arrange his papers on a nearby counter as Sydney quickly exited Sloane's room. She quickly but efficiently walked over to her father. "I am going to cringe every day of my life until this entire thing ends," she told him softly as she looked around. "What are you doing?"  
"I'm headed towards the computer room to talk to Marshall," he replied stoically.  
"Funny, because Sloane was just about to order you there, anyways."  
"What can I say?" Jack asked, clearing his things. "I know Sloane."  
Sydney shrugged, finding nothing to reply to his sentence. I hate it when he does that, she thought ruefully. "I'll check it out down here," she told him. "I think I'm in Yalila's good graces…I'll go over and talk to her." With one final look at her father, she started walking through the aisles of little cubicles towards Yalila.  
Jack nodded and turned back to Sloane's office. Sloane was watching Jack and Sydney conversing and that made Jack feel a strange tingling sensation run down his spine. He had known Sloane for years but he had never felt---or allowed to feel---that sensation run down him. I'm losing my touch, he thought to himself bitterly as he set a curt nod to Sloane before walking off. This isn't good. Ever since I began to get closer to Sydney I've…I don't know…  
Enough analysing you, his inner voice told him sternly.  
Jack knocked on Marshall's door. The door was partially open and when Marshall didn't respond, he let himself in. Marshall's office was slightly a mess; his equipment was cluttered throughout the long table to the wall and his plastic chair was lying adrift somewhere near it. A jar of candy was partially open near the computer where Marshall was, his earphones on as he busily typed away. He was completely oblivious to Jack's presence.  
Jack approached Marshall quietly and peered over, examining his work. Marshall was apparently on the SD-6 server, examining some logs and backtracking the system. Impressive work, Marshall, he thought, but I need some backdrop of some of our co-workers. "Good job, Marshall," he told him out loud, tapping him on the shoulder.  
Marshall nearly jumped a kilometre away. "Oh…oh…hi, Mr. Bristow…."   
"Marshall."  
"C-Can I do, um, anything for you, sir?" he asked, sliding the headphones off his ears. He looked slightly embarrassed. He then lifted his jar of candies towards Jack with a smile. "Um..candy?"  
"I'll pass, thank you," Jack replied patiently. "Marshall, I would like you to do me a favour."  
"Sure, um, Mr. Bristow, er, anything!"  
Jack leaned over the table and looked at the computer screen, his eyes narrowed from the glare of the screen. He analysed Marshall's work briefly and realized that the backdoor that the CIA had created months before was not noticeable at the moment. "I want you to run through a diagnostic of the remaining computers operational down here," he told Marshall grimly.   
"Um, sure, but, well, I'm not sure how much that could help…"  
"Just do it, Marshall," Jack said exasperatedly, trying hard not to sigh in his own impatience. "Sloane put me in charge of this and I want to check out a hunch. There must be some way we can figure out whether the fluxes are hitting all the computers. It's obvious that whoever the leak is, the flux is avoiding their station."  
"Lemme check that out," Marshall replied, his fingers hitting home key before he was even finished. He quickly zoomed through various computer screens with just a few keys. He was so fast that even Jack couldn't keep up, which just earned Jack's respect on how quickly Marshall could get things done. A schematic of the office floor appeared in no time on the computer screen. Marshall quickly zoomed in for a better view. Some cubicles were highlighted red.  
"The cubicles that are, you know, blinking red and makes you kind of remind yourself Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Marshall explained. When he saw Jack's mild perplexed look, he went back into his serious tone. "Those are the last three cubicles that are working…um…Yalila, Hasina and Carl. I've been trying to figure out why the fluxes haven't hit them that quickly. Um…let me check something out…"  
Again, he was on the computer. This time, the layout when black and neon green, like a primary outline of a computer three-dimensional scene. Wild sparks of blue lightning went through each cubicle like a mouse in a maze. Jack was surprised how intricate the pattern of movement was. Of course, the flux would miss those three cubicles, which he found not surprising. Whoever made the flux was good at what they did; it even had a pattern to it.   
"I could check out each of their stations separately," Marshall said finally as he watched the fluxes carefully. "I mean, if their cubicles are being excluded from this little, um, parade, maybe there's something hooked up to their CPU or something…" He trailed off, his focus more on the pattern that the fluxes were generating. Jack frowned at Marshall, ready to say something, when he too, picked up what he was seeing.  
Every time the fluxes passed by the three cubicles, a little spark would hit two of the cubicles…but one of them would remain untouched. The spark was small but significant enough to figure out who was the mole….  
"Whose cubicle is that?" Jack demanded.  
"Um….it's…" Marshall scratched his head, thinking.  
"Who is it, Marshall?" Jack pressed desperately, carefully trying not to break the desk off with his hands. He was pressing onto it so hard in anticipation that he finally feared he would break it. Think faster, he urged silently. We don't have a lot of time…especially Sydney…."Marshall, please, we need to know whose cubicle it is."  
"It…oh! I remember now! McGregor!"  
Jack's eyes widened slightly. "Yalila? The newbie?"  
"Yeah, I remember. Her computer crashed a few weeks ago," Marshall explained quickly, gesturing with his hands. "I had to go and fix it…and now that you mention it, I did find something weird in her computer. When I was fixing the CPU, I came across some strange little black box about 4 by 4 attached to the motherboard. I assumed it was jut a new Pentium attached to the wrong section…" He sulked and his voice trailed off.  
Jack understood what that meant. Marshall was so good at what he did that there was a slim margin of error in his duties. A mistake to Marshall was like Jack being uncovered as a double agent. Jack nodded stiffly although Marshall was too busy sulking at his mistake to see it. "Look, Marshall, it's not your fault," Jack said, trying to sound reassuring. "Everyone makes mistakes. I won't tell Sloane about this little part."  
Marshall shrugged in defeat but nonetheless agreed to it.  
Now Jack was worried. Sydney had gone over to Yalila to check something out and do some undercover work. Now that Jack knew who the receiver was, it was going to be hard to lure her to a corner to get the information out. He recalled briefly that Valenti and Nadia were busy with the interrogation of the hit man and he wondered whether they had gotten anywhere.  
"Look, Marshall, I want you to do something," he said in a serious tone. "I don't want you to breathe a word about this little…discovery of ours. We don't want her to get a heads-up and disappear… that will make our jobs a lot more difficult than it already is."  
"No…no problem," Marshall agreed.  
"Good." Jack sighed inwardly. How was he going to tell Sydney without Yalila noticing? 


	12. Enemy Behind the Lines

here's the next chapter---sorry it took so long. Again, thanx for all your reviews and encouragement---it's good to know people read and like my story. ^^ because i'm extremely busy with my history eclass and my general courses, i may take a while. ^^ anyways, enjoy this chapter!  
  
  
Chapter Eleven  
Vaughn burst into Norman Valenti's office with a scowl on his face. He carried a stack of papers in his hand. The haggard figures of Valenti, Weiss and Nadia were already inside, obviously talking low and serious. They were all tired from their work and were sipping cups of coffee in their hands. Nadia was talking while she was typing on her laptop when he entered.  
"This has better be good," Vaughn prowled restlessly. "I'm busy at Ops going through a hundred strategies about whoever the hell is after Sydney Bristow." He scowled deeply as he sat down beside a weary Weiss and sighed, plopping the papers on his lap.   
"Vaughn, you got some bad stuff headed your way," Weiss finally said.  
"I think I'm already in that, Weiss…"  
"No, I mean, someone's on your tail."  
Vaughn frowned at Weiss, glaring at his co-worker. "What do you mean?" he demanded.  
Weiss sighed, brushing his hair back. "Some journalist named William Tippin is on your case, buddy," he told him slowly. "Paul down wherever his division is got the heads up from someone in the government dealing with social security stuff…he was trying to look you up."  
Vaughn sighed. "Of course."  
Valenti gave Vaughn a stern gaze. "And let me guess…Mr. Tippin caught you with the lovely Miss Bristow somewhere sometime," he supposed, sipping some of his coffee with a matter-of-fact look on his fatigued face.  
Vaughn loosened his tie involuntarily. "Well…"  
Nadia looked up at the three men, oblivious to their discussion. She lifted her glasses and looked at them. "I just got in contact with a colleague of mine," she told them in a grim voice. "I think I may have found our twelve in one, one in twelve riddle."  
Valenti sighed. "We'll deal with this later, Mr. Vaughn," he told him. "Go ahead, Nadia."  
"It's the Alliance of Twelve as far as the structure is concerned," she explained. "The higher order of SD-6. Their deal is relatively anonymous…no one knows much…they keep their trade a secret. But they're pretty much like an executive council…kind of like the senate or something. They make the rules, they give the top orders to their fractions. They lay low at what they do…my colleague didn't know much."  
"We do know that Sydney's boss at SD-6 has some sort of connection with the Alliance of Twelve, whether he's a member or not," Vaughn provided thoughtfully. 'I'm guessing that he has some enemies in the group itself." He turned to Nadia. "Do you have any idea who makes up the bulk of the Alliance? British? American? Russian?"  
Nadia shook her head. "As I said, they lay low in their business," she replied seriously, brushing her long hair back. "But I do know that they're made up of different nationalities. It doesn't just bulk with Russians or Americans or whatever. I'm guessing a rep from the twelve most powerful and influential countries in the world…something like that. I'd have to check it out, but before I can get a lead, the evidence disappears."  
"Do your best," Valenti assured, "while I inform Devlin about this. Weiss?"  
Weiss shrugged. "The fluxes are remaining stable in intervals right now," he told them. "But I think that the Bristows may be doing a better job than I am." He cleared his throat. "Which leads me back to what I found out about our journalist. He's on his way to San Francisco from what I've heard from our follower. I was thinking we should keep him there…just in case."  
"In case of what, Mr. Weiss?" Valenti asked.  
"I'm guessing SD-6 might be keeping an eye out for him," Weiss explained. "And if he starts slipping Vaughn buddy's name here, we might be in for some serious trouble…especially our double agents." He shrugged. "If problem lurks, I'm sure our man can deal with it."   
"There's just a problem with that," Nadia said, tapping away on her laptop. "Someone is also following Mr. Tippin." She looked up at them again. "I ran a backdrop analysis on the person based on what the surveillance feed can pick up…he's definitely not a business man as he had signed up in as occupation. He's SD-6."  
"Great, he did slip," Weiss muttered.  
Vaughn went white. That Will certainly was nosy! "Now what?" he asked.   
"Vaughn, get back to Ops," Valenti said, clearly unhappy at the latest developments. "This time, I want you to contact some undercovers in San Francisco and brief them about this. It's important that he doesn't do anything stupid that could slip Vaughn or the agency up." He sighed. "If he does, then we are all screwed…" He groaned and glared at Vaughn. "Which comes back to you!"  
Nadia knew that her uncle was now in the boiling water. "There's also that situation up at the Yukon," she told them abruptly. "From what my contact says, those agent are definitely up to something up there. She's watching them constantly…their motives are secretive but they've been going out into the wildlands a bunch of times." She shook her head. "Does SD-6 have anything important up there that could set up a frame?"  
Weiss gave it a thought. "I remember one of our agents stumbling across it a few years ago," he replied. "Read it in a report while researching up everything we knew about SD-6. Apparently he crashed while doing a test flight from Alaska and landed somewhere in a clearing. On his second night out, he came across some people walking towards some secluded area in some forest area. He couldn't get any closer because there were laser detectors all over the place."  
"Sounds like a good place to stash something," Nadia said. She turned to Valenti. "Maybe we should tell Sydney…I mean, maybe she might be able to figure out what the hell these MSS people are. Oh…I did another background on this group…they are definitely not part of the CIA, or the FBI or of the Secret Services."  
"Part of SD-6?" Valenti suggested.  
"Or the Alliance," Vaughn supposed.  
"Or a rogue," Nadia concurred, tapping again on her computer before pulling off her glasses completely. "This may be part of the big plan…I think we should give Sydney the heads up." She looked back at the men who were watching her at work. "This is serious stuff…whatever is in those bushes that that agent saw must be pretty damn important. And time's running out."  
"Mr. Vaughn," Valenti said, "when's your next rendevouz with Sydney?"  
"Um…tonight at the warehouse."  
"Nadia," Valenti said, turning to face her, "you're there."  
"'What?" Vaughn cried out in protest.   
"You're at Ops…remember?" Valenti said with a certain slyness in his composure.  
Vaughn sulked in his seat. "Yes, sir."  
"Okay, so Nadia, you're in charge of informing Miss Bristow and continue to check up on all this…stuff," Valenti said. "Vaughn, you're at Ops dealing with our big-mouthed journalist…Weiss, you'll keep at it with the server and keep a heads up with Doctor Tamakawa about our guest downstairs. I'll be in Devlin's office if anyone wants to know. Dismissed."  
Vaughn got up and walked out the door. Nadia packed quickly and ran out the room with him. "You probably hate my guts for taking up your job this time," she said lowly once they were out of Valenti's office.  
"Of course not, Nadia."  
"Seriously…I feel bad," she said, trying to hide the guilt from her expression.  
Vaughn stopped and looked at Nadia carefully. "It's all right," he told her. "You know about what's going on more than me right now, especially in that sort of stuff. I've been preoccupied with strategics to deal with this stuff." He shrugged despite his cool composure. "I guess I'm left to clean up after the mess I've made."  
"If you say so…but I think there's a reason that Valenti did this."  
"Oh?"  
"I think he suspects something between you and Sydney," Nadia said in a low voice to avoid attention. "No offence, Vaughn, but after what happened with you and Doctor Barnett, I think you should keep your…working relationship…under wraps. Especially once we wrap up about that journalist…I don't trust him for a second. Besides, you know how the Agency feels about office romance." She scowled at the thought.   
"I know," Vaughn replied, "I've been thinking about it too."  
She shrugged. "I'm sure all will come out well…somehow…" Her voice trailed off when she saw the familiar figure of Jason Lee standing near a table that was sitting outside in the corridor. "I'll catch up with you back at the apartment, Uncle, there's something I got to take care off."  
"Okay…"  
Nadia slowly walked up towards Jason. "What are you doing up here?" she asked.  
He looked at her, clearly amused at her quesstion. "I'm a junior agent, you know," he replied with a hint of pride in his voice, "I'm allowed up here, too. You think that I was stationed down there forever from the minute I step into this building?" He gave her a grin to accompany her sarcasm.  
"Yes, I actually did think you were confined there," she replied with equal sarcasm.   
"Well, I rarely come up here, anyways," he admitted with a shrug.   
She smiled a bit. "So what brings you up here?"  
"Actually…you."  
"Me?"  
"Thought you'd might an update with our guest downstairs," he replied, leaning on the table. "He's a rather interesting guy…well, interesting to observe from behind a soundproof glass window." He shrugged and lowered his voice. "He's ranting now. He's demanding his rights, that he's under the protection of the constitution, all that bull. He thinks he's in some court drama or something…but anyways, he did mention something about his bosses pulling up their "greatest caper" yet." He shook his head again. "I don't know if that's useful, but there it is."  
She nodded slowly. "Um…thanks, Lee…"  
"Jason, please."  
"Okay," she said uncertainly, "Jason…"  
He nodded, standing up straight. He was a head taller that Nadia and he looked down at her calmly. "Well, I better be getting back to my station," he finally told her. "I don't want to be demoted down to sanitation duty." This brought a shy grin on Nadia's lips. "Um, say Nadia…will I ever…see you again? I mean…around here….you know…'  
She nodded in understanding. "Sometimes," she replied as she accompanied walking with him. "I mean, my job is basically out there than in here. Just now that I'm involved in this big case, I'm in here. This is like, my third trip in here so far in here. I only know this floor in all my time here." She shrugged. "Not, of course, that it bothers me."  
He grinned. "Maybe I should give you a grand tour sometime."  
"Maybe," she replied, stopping in front of the staircase. They both looked around, slightly awkward of the situation. "I still have to get down to the computer sector," she told him. "You know, deal with the entire big case. Look, if you have any problems or if our guest is starting to get roudy, Weiss will be there to assist you on anything…" She then scrawled something quickly into a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Or, of course, you can page me."  
He looked at it carefully. "Cool. I'll remember that."  
She flashed him a quick grin. "Okay…later." She then scurried down the hall.   
  
"Of course, of course, I understand, Sydney Bristow," Yalila said thinly, bobbing her grim head up and down. Her hair bobbed slightly with her movement and stray pieces of her bangs bounced off her tan forehead. Her dull green eyes looked right into Sydney's lively ones. "It has been a little bugger, hasn't it? Thank goodness my computer wasn't affected."   
Sydney smiled falsely. "Of course…I just wish Marshall would hurry up."  
Yalila raised her delicate brows at her. "Oh?"  
Sydney flipped her hair back, as if on cue. "Yeah," she replied, "I mean, geez, a girl's got work here to, you know. This virus couldn't have come at a worse timing. I mean, hell, this thing has been a bitch as far as it goes." She sighed heavily.  
"Well, if you need it badly, you can always use mine."  
"Aw, thanks, Yalila," Sydney replied, looking around. Where was her father? She couldn't stand another moment of her conversation with Yalila; it wasn't because she was nasty or anything, it was just that her conversation was just too boring. She felt like she was going to drop dead from absolute boredom and the fact that she was trying to think from the top of her head. "Say....congrats on your promotion."  
She hinted a slight blush come from the agent's pale face. "Why, thank you, Sydney. But then again, I could never match to your expertise," she added with a slight blush.   
Now it was Sydney's turn to raise her brows. "What makes you think that?"  
"Oh, there's been talk around here," Yalila replied, looking around suspiciously. "They say you're the best of the best. I mean, you've got the looks and the muscles...and you've got the favour of the boss. It's no secret...he sends you to all these kick-ass missions...you get all the good stuff. We just stand here and settle with the crumbs."  
"Not true!" Sydney replied in protest.   
"Don't lie, Sydney," she replied coldly, her eyes now darting back to the cold demeanor that she always carried. "Everyone could see how you are treated diffrently from the rest..."  
Suddenly, she saw Jack appear from Marshall's office. He scanned the room until his eyes met hers and he did a slight gesture to come to him. She gave the slightest of nods before turning back to Yalila, who was glaring coldly at her desk. "As much as I want to continue this facinating conversation, I have other things to do. Good day."  
She grunted something in reply and turned away from Sydney.  
Sydney scoffed and headed towards her father, who was walking towards the conference room. She kept an eye out for anything conspicious or out of the ordinary as she slipped into the conference room. Jack was already waiting, sitting down in one of the chairs. When she closed the door, he raised his trusty pen and pressed a button, jamming the signal.  
"What did you find out?" she asked almost immediately.  
"I found out who it was."  
"Well...who is it?" she demanded.  
Jack gulped. "It's Yalila."  
"What?!"  
"I know, I know..."  
"I was just talking to her!" she cried incredulously. "I guess that explains her cold personality..." She scowled as she took a seat before she exploded in surprise. "I don't get it...why her? Is that why she moved up the ranks quicker than others?"  
Jack nodded slowly. "It could be possible."  
"And no wonder she really detested me."  
Jack gave his daughter an odd look. "Don't take it personally, Sydney," he told her stiffly. "We have bigger issues to deal with. Like how to smoke out her out without Sloane's knowledge or approval." His face became grimmer. "Look, I know that she has a black minivan out in the parking lot. How about we nab her there after hours?"  
Sydney considered it for a moment, her brown hair falling across her forehead as she leaned over to think. "But what about the others in the building?" she finally asked, her eyes raising to meet her father's. "They're going to see what's going on and report it to Sloane..."  
Jack nodded. "I have a plan."  
"Okay..." she trailed off.  
The pen beeped softly. The time was up. He pocketted the pen into his inside jacket pocket and got to his feet once again. He strode towards the door but he hung back and then turned back to face his daughter. "Trust me on this one," he told her, then walked out of the conference room, leaving Sydney baffled where she sat.  
  
"Isn't San Francisco lovely?" Jenny asked, wrapping her arm around Will's. They were walking along the tourist area that faced the Golden Gate Bridge. Many people surrounded them; families, couples, international tourists. It was incredibly busy that time of hour and Will found himself in a mess. The stiff wind was making him cold to the bone, but he didn't want to make a scene of it. After all, the guys were supposed to be macho and all.   
"Mm...hmmm...."  
Jenny looked up at Will's frozen face. "What's wrong, Will?" she asked.  
He looked around, wide-awake. "Oh, me? Nothing, nothing."  
She pouted full-fledged at Will, making him feel all guilty inside. "You look as though you're somewhere else," she said glumly, kicking a pebble forward a distance.  
He smiled tightly at Jenny, trying hard not to make her worried. That was the last thing he wanted her to be. "I'm just...savouring in the scenery!" he replied with a guffaw. Gosh, my lying sucks! he thought inwardly.  
She looked at him as though he were mad. The wind blew again, blowing her hair around like a rag toy. "Will," she told him seriously, "you told me you've been here dozens of times! Why are you savouring in the scenery for?"  
The wind blew again stiffly.  
He shrugged, looking around to avoid Jenny's curious gaze. "I don't know...I never really took it in before," he replied, praying silently that Jenny could not read minds. He looked around to see a peculiar man walking around, watching the waters. The man had a black shirt on and nice, rich-looking pants and ruffly black hair.   
Didn't I see him somewhere before? Will asked himself.  
The man turned and their gazes met. They were an intensely ice blue shock and the man turned away abruptly, walking off.   
Jenny grinned and tightened her grip on his arm. "Cool," she replied happily. "Tonight, my relatives are inviting all of my cousins and nephews and nieces! Aw, this is going to be a blast!" She then tippy-toed on her feet and planted a kiss on his cheek.   
"Yeah," Will replied, his eyes still on the man. "It will be." 


	13. Matters of the Heart

here's the next chapter...sorry it took so long...again. ::bows and apoligizes:: anyways, here is it, quite lengthy and sort of slow and fast at the same time. hopefully i get the next chapter up...soon. ^_~ read and review!  
  
  
  
Chapter Twelve  
"The team says they're to begin surveillence soon."  
"Good, good..."  
"Yes, sir."  
The commander raised his hand and played with his gold ring that sat on his right ring finger. He then looked up at the younger agent and asked, "Is there any word from Folken?"  
"No, sir."  
He waved his hand and sighed heavily. "Very well. Mark him as MIA and tell Lion Leader One to commence at once."  
"Yes, sir."  
"At last, something is going right according to plan..." He watched the agent leave the room as he leaned back on his chair and fiddled with his golden ring. "Arvin, Arvin, Arvin, what are you going to do about this crisis this time around?"  
  
"How you dealing with the situation, Mike?" Weiss asked as he strolled into Ops with his hands jutted in his pant pockets, whistling as he walked.   
Vaughn looked up from his strategics papers and frowned. Weiss was taken aback for a moment because Vaughn looked like a total wreck. His eyes were getting bloodshot. Near and around the table was littered with paper cups that had been once filled with coffee. "Eric, what are you doing here?" he asked hoarsely.   
"Oh, just making sure you didn't kill yourself yet," he stressed, leaning over the table.   
Vaughn rolled his eyes. "I wish."  
"That bad, huh?"  
Vaughn sighed, standing up and walking a bit away from the desk. "I feel so helpless sitting here in this damned Ops office," he fumed, tossing another paper aside and leaning on the desk as well. "I mean, even my own niece has something more interesting and more helpful to do! And what do I get to do? I wind up babysitting that reporter who happens to hate my guts!"  
"Aren't you being all touchy," Weiss remarked.   
"Hey, you'd be pissed to, if you were in my position!"  
"Would I?" Weiss asked truthfully.  
Vaughn sighed. "What do you mean, Eric?"  
Weiss couldn't help grinning as he stood up straight and looked straight into Vaughn's tense and confused look. "Okay, Vaughn, I got to admit, as a friend, that you're taking this a little too to the heart. I mean, I haven't seen you like this since you got evidence pointing that Jack Bristow was your father's murderer."  
"I guess I have been," Vaughn admitted tightly.  
Weiss leaned forward, his face dead serious. Vaughn felt uncomfortable under his friend's stern gaze. "Something's going on between you and Bristow, isn't there?" he finally asked. When Vaughn turned away, Weiss sighed heavily. "Dammit, Mike, you really did a true touchdown, didn't you?" he asked, whistling off-key.  
Vaughn turned to Weiss with a serious look. "You can't tell anyone, you know that."  
Weiss shrugged casually, like he always did. "Just keep this information from Haladki and you're on safe turf," he told him with a wary smile. "I will not breathe a word of this outside. But Michael, man, you know how the head honchos don't approve of these kinds of romances, if you know what I mean."   
He whistled lowly again and winked at his friend. "Man, you are in for some hot water. And I mean hot water."  
"You'll keep Haladki in check, right?" he asked warily.  
"Of course," Weiss replied modestly, "it's become my duty."  
Vaughn couldn't help grinning. In fact, he knew that Weiss would keep a check on Haladki. Ever since what had happened when Haladki took Weiss's call, Weiss had held a grudge against the loudmouth. He had carried the mutual feeling for the both of them, since Vaughn was preoccupied with the rest of the world. He was grateful for Weiss's help.  
"Thanks, Eric," Vaughn said earnestly.  
Weiss grinned and slapped Vaughn's arm manly. "Hey, you hang on here, okay? I'll go and deal with the rest of whatever and I'll come back later and bring a pizza or something." He then got up and strolled out of the office, whistling off-key.  
Vaughn sighed and got back to work.  
  
Yalila was walking in the parking level of Credit Dauphine. She had finished her workload that had been screaming for attention all day and even stayed in late just finishing the stack off. She still did not finish her paperwork and decided to pack up and call it a day. She was one of the last to leave; of course, everyone knew that Marshall was the last to exit the building.   
She clutched the flapping edges of her dusty green jacket and lugged her heavy briefcase as she headed to her thrashed 1993 Honda. It was a musty blue colour and she didn't have the time to go and buy a new car. Oh well, she thought ruefully.  
Just as she was about to insert the key into the car when someone grabbed her from behind. She dropped the heavy briefcase and she did not stop to react. Yalila's arms were out and lashed out against her unknown attacker, the key slashing flesh. The attacker stumbled back for a brief moment before lashing out again. They grabbed her arms and thumped her face down on her car's front hood. Her chin slammed onto the hood sharply and the pain was only numbing. Her attacker hissed, "Hurry up!"  
She heard footfalls from a pair of heels. Yalila did not look up to see who it was as she slid her foot underneath and flipped her attacker over. His hands were briefly loosed from her arms as she pushed her attacker away. She did not see his face for he had stumbled onto his face and slid across the pavement of the floor. Blood was splattered on the floor.  
She turned around, ready to pack up and leave before her attacker got up when a boot just lashed out of nowhere, slamming her right at the nose. The pain shot right up and she cried out loud, grabbing her nose in pain. Strong hands gripped her again and she was slammed onto the car's front hood. Yalila could've sworn she just added another dent into her hood. She heard her second assailant call out to their (probably) assistant, "Dad! You okay?"  
Suddenly, Yalila knew who it was. "Sydney?"  
From the ground, Jack Bristow slowly got to his feet, wiping the blood from his cheek. "I'm okay," he announced in a grim voice.   
"Sydney, what the hell are you doing?" Yalila managed to say.  
Sydney tightened her grip once she knew that her father was going to be all right. "I don't know," she replied. "I was going to ask you the same question." Jack slowly limped over and joined his daughter as they both glowered down. "Like, what the hell you're trying to do to all of us."  
"I…I don't know what the hell you're talking about," she replied tightly.  
"Like hell you don't!" Sydney gritted angrily, leaning over. "You're a mole in the agency. You've been spying on us for months for whoever the hell you're working for. You're receiving all those fluxes from our server and distributing them on our servers. Dammit, you probably even knew that I was being tracked down!" She was tired and she was pissed and even her own father couldn't stop her from biting out those words.  
Yalila didn't say anything.  
"Well?" Sydney demanded, pressing Yalila towards her hood even further.   
"Okay, okay, dammit!" she cried, struggling in Sydney's strong grip. "I did it! You caught me! I was the other end! I was the receiver! Just…just don't bust my car any further!"   
Jack finally intervened and pried Sydney away from Yalila before it got out of hand. He knew that Sydney was incredibly pissed about the entire situation, especially this late in the night. The two of them managed to hack the security feed but he didn't know how long it was going to last. And with Marshall still in the building…he couldn't risk it.  
"Go, Sydney," Jack murmured in an unquestioning tone as he struggled through his jacket and revealed some handcuffs. He opened them and began to clip them onto Yalila's sickly thin wrists. He clasped them and secured them before giving Sydney a serious look. "We need some new intel from HQ. Go and regroup…find out whatever you can that will give us some idea who she's working for---"  
"You'll never find out!" Yalila spat.  
"We'll see about that," Jack said coolly. "I ought to hand you over to Sloane."  
"Why don't you?" she challenged.   
Jack narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Sydney knew that Jack was planning to hand Yalila over to the CIA and let them deal with her but he wasn't too sure. Besides, he knew what Sloane was going to do with Yalila once she was under his jurisdiction. This was treason and mutiny and Sloane wasn't going to take it easy just because she was a girl.  
"I'll take care of this," Jack whispered to Sydney. "You go."  
"You sure…?"  
"Yes. Go."  
Sydney took once last glare at Yalila's direction before she headed towards her van.  
  
"You okay, Will?" Jenny asked softly as she cuddled with Will. They were both lying in bed, the blankets covering their nude forms in the motel. Will had insisted that they take a motel instead of staying with Jenny's relatives. He told her that he didn't feel comfortable in someone else's home, especially since he was a reporter and all. But what he didn't tell her was that he was afraid that that person was still on his case. He didn't want Jenny to tag along with him, but after dinner at her relatives, things just---happened.  
Will blinked, his eyes still on the ceiling. "What do you mean?"  
She propped herself up to see his face, her long hair dropping onto his chest and her intent eyes on his face. He felt like he was being interrogated. "Well, you've been uneasy since we got here," she pointed out. "I mean, this was supposed to be a vacation for you, but you've been on edge, as if your mind is on something else. And when we were….you know….doing it….you didn't seem to be there."  
"You read too much into things," Will said, shifting uncomfortably.  
"I'm serious, Will," she said, her long hair tickling his skin. "Something's up."  
"Nothing's up," he replied, still no looking at her.   
Jenny frowned. "You lie," she replied huffily. "Why can't you just tell me?"  
Will wanted to blow up and yell that if he told her, she would then suffer the consequences, such as perhaps dying. He was protecting her from his own ordeals, why couldn't she get that? She was persistent enough to be a reporter herself. Don't get her any ideas, he warned himself cautiously. That's the last thing you need on your mind.  
"It's about her, isn't it?"  
Why does it always comes back to Sydney? Will wondered to himself miserably.  
Jenny got up, clutching the blanket to her body and threw a fluffy pillow against him. The pillow hit Will's face. Will threw the pillow aside and looked up at Jenny, half-irritated. "What was that for?" he demanded.   
"It's always about her!" she wailed angrily, searching about the room for her underwear. "God, Will, I thought we would be alone all this time! I mean, screw work, forget about everything back at L.A. for just one damn moment and just look around! Smell the ocean air and have a walk! With me! Why can't we just do that?" The question came out as a plea.   
Will went cold to him stomach. He lifted his hand towards her. "Jenny, I…"  
But she wasn't done yet. "But noooo….you always had to have her on your mind, don't you?" She snatched up her underwear and began to pull them on underneath the thick blanket. "I don't ask for a lot Will, but this is getting crazy!" She switched open the lights and began to pull on her skirt back. Will squinted at the harsh lights as she continued. "But I guess that can't be, now can it? Go grovel back to your true love…just don't come back to me in the end. I don't care." She yanked on her blouse and headed for the door.  
"Jenny, wait!" Will yelled.  
  
Outside the motel room where Will Tippin was staying was a car parked just near his window. Inside, the man smoked his cigarette, gusted out some smoke and threw the butts out the car window. His beady eyes remained on the window, where the familiar silhouettes of a man and a woman were playing out some sort of scene.   
He coughed, spat some saliva out the window before picking up his radio unit. "Red Leader, this is Black Tiger," he said to it. "Subject appears to be having a fight with his girlfriend…no threat whatsoever to us. Copy."  
The radio spat out some static. "Roger that, Black Tiger."  
The man leaned back and continued to smoke his cigarette, watching the subject stand motionless by the window. "Lucky bastard," he grunted as he drew a whiff from his cigarette and grinned to himself. "Rather her than us…"  
  
Sydney was grumbling to herself when she had entered the warehouse. She knew she was about an hour late and she prayed that Vaughn hadn't left already. She was thinking up a bunch of excuses for being late. She was physically exhausted ever since the entire ordeal had came up and she wanted to collapse in weariness. And she also needed a friendly face to help her through; she had gone so far with his help.  
She could see a figure up ahead behind the chain-linked fence. She frowned slightly; Vaughn wasn't that short. Why could she see more of him now? As she got closer, she realized that it wasn't Vaughn. After all, since when did he get darker hues of hair?  
"Hurry up, dammit," came the voice. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."  
Sydney scowled in realization as she opened the chair door. "Nadia?"  
Nadia looked up. She was in black garb and she appeared to be reading some sort of textbook in the dim lights. Her eyebrows cocked slightly as she said sarcastically, "Who did you expect it to be? The Easter bunny?"  
"Where's Vaughn?" Sydney asked, ignoring the sarcasm.  
"Couldn't make it," she replied quickly. "He's been ordered to do some strategic stuff." Nadia then quickly explained the situation to Sydney.   
Sydney furrowed her brows. "So what do I have to do?"  
"You've got to convince Sloane that there's a situation up there and that you're up to it."  
"How? There's no evidence…"  
"Already taken care of," Nadia replied immediately. "I got that covered already. Look, this is an emergency. Whatever is up there that's linked to SD-6 is under the possibility of attack by whoever these dudes are, you got me? These dudes aren't afraid to show their big guns. There's something important up there and it could be sabotage, it could be some sort of attack, I don't know. It's your job to ensure that it's not to happen."  
"But this is SD-6 we're talking about, not some innocent group of people here!" Sydney explained with a certain coldness in her voice. "We would be helping them! Trust me, saving Sloane's ass is the last thing on my agenda…besides, wouldn't these guys be helping us out in our jobs anyhow?"  
"Or making the job a lot harder," Nadia pointed out wearily. "We don't know what this fraction is capable of doing. They can be a lot ruthless than Sloane or his merry men can be and trust me, I do not want to see these dudes' big guns at all costs. You got to go there and plug it up. Goodness knows what can happen if you just leave them alone…I doubt we'd feel very proud of ourselves."  
Sydney fell silent. Nadia had a good point and frankly, she didn't expect that from someone as young as she was. And she hated the fact that she was right; she didn't want to help Sloane out and doing this just made her feel worse. She was helping out the bad guy---how could she be the good guy if she was helping the enemy?  
"Look," Nadia said exasperatedly, "I know this is all hard to process at the moment, but we've got a pretty clear objective right now. You are to stop these bastards and whatever's in plan right now…I understand that you are clearly disgusted at the prospect of helping SD-6 and your boss…but think about it. If that place they are going to foil just happens to be some missile site or some sort of experiment station with chemicals or that sort…we could all be in danger."  
Sydney nodded, finally clear on the entire situation. Bitter thoughts of helping Sloane evaporated as she gave Nadia a determined look. "Okay, so I'll go tell him tomorrow," she told her. "Is the evidence all set?"  
"Yeah," Nadia replied with a sly twinkle in her eye. "It's almost set but it'll be pretty convincing evidence, since, after all, it is based on the truth." She grinned for a brief moment, showing her more younger side before returning back to her serious expression.  
"Do I want to know?" Sydney asked.  
"You'll find out eventually."  
"Great."  
Silence.  
"How's Vaughn?" Sydney suddenly asked. She knew this was all business, but she couldn't help wondering. Did the CIA do this purposely? Did they find out about the exchange between her and Vaughn? She hoped not; she didn't want to lose her handler for the second time. Especially now, out of all the times in the world. Besides, Nadia knew Vaughn pretty well and she was secretly hoping that she would spill some information about him.  
Nadia sighed heavily, kicking into thin air. "He's working," she replied after a brief moment of thought. "He's working overtime, I reckon. Sometimes the work gets to him and he wouldn't sleep on ends." She shrugged helplessly afterwards.  
"Does he do this often?" Sydney inquired.  
"Yeah," she replied. "Half the reason why he broke up with Alice…" Nadia blushed sheepishly when she mentioned her name. "Oops…I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. Do you…do you know about Alice?" she asked curiously.   
"I saw a picture of her in his office the day I met him."  
"Oh…that pic…" She seemed to be slightly disgusted with it.  
"Why?"  
"Can I be frank?" Nadia asked immediately. When Sydney nodded, the younger girl sighed heavily, as if she was relieved from some burden. Sydney wondered for a brief moment what the young girl was about to say. She was shocked when she heard Nadia blurt out, "She was such a bitch!"  
Sydney cleared her throat, trying to understand. "What…What makes you say that?"  
"She would be so cloy and sweet with Uncle and when it came to me, she'd be some mean and rude," she explained, a new wave of emotion forming on the girl's youthful face. "I swear, when she first saw me, she thought I was his daughter! And when she thought that, she looked like she was going to go insane. When she then found out that I was just under his guardianship, she looked so relieved. Ever time she was over at his place, I made every possible excuse to get myself the hell out of there. She pissed me off…and I think I did the same to her. I tried to show Uncle Mike her wicked witch side, but I guess that thing he had for her made him pretty blind…"  
"How long were they…together?" Sydney asked.  
"About two years…can't remember," Nadia replied demurely, shrugging off her hair to her back. Sydney felt herself go cold deep inside. It was two years ago that she had met Danny. She looked down onto her hand, where Danny's engagement ring once sat secure. "I could've sworn that they were on their way to the altar. I don't know what stopped them…aside from Uncle's work. They were drifting apart for a while…I guess they came across more speed bumps than expected…I just wish I knew what the other part of the reason was for breaking up."  
"Did…she notice?"  
Nadia thought for a moment, her eyes cast far away in the warehouse. "Well, sort of," she replied. "She bitched a little more than usual during their last few months together…nagging, whining, complaining. I swear I wanted to kick her ass out of that door! She pissed me off so much…she sounded more like a twit than a woman…" She sighed. "Yeah, the last few days were the rocky ones. I wanted to stay out of the war as much as possible…I stayed at my dorm that time."  
"Dorm? I thought you lived with your uncle!"  
"Sometimes," Nadia replied, flipping back her hair. "But during my school time, I'm at my dorm." She shrugged. "Okay, I know where you live so…tomorrow, in your mailbox, before you go to work, there'll be a package. You are to take it and show it to Sloane as conclusive proof that something is going on in the Yukon, got it?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay," Nadia replied warily, heading towards the chain-link fence. Before she stepped out, she turned her head sideward, casting a glance at Sydney. "And Sydney?"  
Sydney looked up. "Yes?"  
"We never had this…conversation."  
Sydney nodded, knowing precisely what she meant.  
Nadia smiled tiredly and left the warehouse.  
At the same time, Sydney's phone went off. She picked it up and opened it. "Hello?"  
"Sydney?" came a timid voice from the other end.  
"Francie!" she cried in realization as she made a quick exit from the warehouse. She quickly clipped through the maze layout of the warehouse until she got out. A stiff breeze came over her as she walked quickly towards her red van. She looked around, checking if Nadia had left, but she didn't see nor hear the younger girl. She flipped over her keys from her pocket as she said, "What's up?"  
"Why aren't you home yet?"  
"I'm sorry," Sydney apologized as she opened the door to her car, "work and all."  
Francie oohed and aahed as if it was interesting, when in fact, it was ticking her off a bit. Sydney could feel the vibes even from her end of the conversation. Man, this can be freaky sometimes, she thought as she revved up the engine. "Look, before I hit the sacks, I wanted to tell you that Will isn't going to be in for the next few days," Francie told her seriously.  
"Why not?" Sydney asked, waiting for the engine to heat up.  
"Something about a vacation."  
Sydney didn't say anything. She remembered Will's crushed look when he saw Vaughn in the house a few days ago. And she knew it wasn't coincidence that Will just happened to be in the neighbourhood this morning when she was at Vaughn's place. She closed her eyes; did he just go on vacation because of her? She felt so bad.  
Then again, he was so jealous and so nosy at times.  
"Syd?" Francie asked, breaking her train of thoughts.  
"Oh, I see," Sydney said slowly, as she realized that the car was warm enough. "Look, I'm on my way home, so I'll see you tomorrow or something, okay?"  
"Um, yeah, sure."  
"Okay. Bye."  
"Later, Syd."   
The dial tone went on as Sydney shut her cell phone and pulled out of the warehouse's parking lot, still thinking about everything around him. 


	14. Rough Communications

yes, here's the continuation of the story...I'm slowly beginning to cover the loose ends here so you may expect the story to finish in a few more chapters. anyways, i appreciate the reviews you're giving...R&R!^^  
  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
Sloane reviewed the data sheets that Nadia had provided Sydney with. Sydney woke up bright and early despite her bruises and hurried to work, coffee in one hand and carrying the file package like a life saver on the other. She quickly hurried to Sloane's office, knowing that he would be there early in the morning and probably beginning to work on something.   
"Well, this certainly is interesting," he finally said, stroking his goatee, his eyes deep in any thought. Sydney thought that made him look more sinister than ever, which made a chill run down his spine. "I'm surprised Jack didn't give this to me right away, though."  
Sydney shrugged. "Well, he had to check if it was credible."  
"I see what you mean," Sloane acknowledged slowly. He then leaned forward, the anger and rage clear in his eyes. "This is very important and vital information that you've just handed to me, Sydney. This….this must be work of whoever was after you and whoever tried to sabotage our computer network." He composed himself back to a calmer state. "This must stop now."  
She nodded, agreeing with him for once. "I know."  
Sloane eyed Sydney. "You up for the mission?" he suddenly asked.  
She blinked, trying to act as surprised as she could. "Um…yeah, I guess I am."  
He nodded, ignoring her baffled confusion. Sydney triumphed silently; she pulled it on straight again. She then silently wondered if this was all ever going to come back to her in some strange way. Better later than now, she thought. "Good," he replied tightly. "because I am going to deploy you off as soon as possible to the Yukon. You are to remain as discreet as possible and avoid contact with anyone."  
"What about Dixon? Is he going?"  
"I think we should leave him out for this one," he replied quickly. "We don't have a lot of time. These people are going to attack soon." He pulled out a pen and began scribbling something down before handing it to her. "Those are the coordinates in which you are to rendevouz. Your job is to plant some bombs and wear that group off…Marshall can supply you with that. I'd send you a team, but I can't risk…"  
Sydney raised her hand. "I understand completely," she replied.  
"Another question, Sydney…before you go," he added before she could turn around.  
Uh-oh, she thought, feeling her body freeze over completely. She looked straight into Sloane's eyes to avoid him wondering if he would notice anything unusual. He got up, walked over and asked, "Have you seen Yalila McGregor? She didn't sign in this morning…and she looked perfectly fine yesterday."  
"I don't know," she replied, wondering, Where did my father put her? "People get sick suddenly."  
He looked at her curiously. "I see…You be careful out there."  
She turned away and walked out the door.  
  
Will found himself walking down the Pier in a gray morning in San Francisco. He didn't want to go to Jenny's relatives' place, figuring that she was just going to get himself into a fight with her relatives. Besides, he didn't feel up to talking to anyone today. After all the crazy stuff that had been happening, he didn't want to deal with anyone else.  
He looked up to the gray sky. Why are you doing this to me? He asked God silently.   
Silence.  
A car honked his car horn into nothing. He was probably drunk.   
He jabbed his hands into his jean pockets and strolled down the almost empty streets. A stiff breeze from the ocean came through and he shuddered at the chilly air. There wasn't a lot of people around except for someone walking her dog down the street and a peculiar guy walking a few meters behind, smoking a cigarette.  
He looked vaguely familiar…  
The man in the airport.  
The man that was in the crowd near the Golden Gate Bridge.  
The man who was parked near his motel room.  
What the hell was going on? Will wondered, picking up his pace. He rubbed his eyes and checked it again, trying to act casual. Yes, this was the man he saw in those places and it made him shiver unnaturally. He felt like he was caught in some sort of whirlwind and he couldn't escape from its grasp. He felt like his entire world was going spiralling downward and he couldn't see the end of the tunnel. This guy was obviously stalking him, otherwise this was just some crazy coincidence.  
Will started running through his options. He could try and talk to him, but then he thought that he could just get killed in the process. He could keep walking and ignore him, but that would not resolve his current situation. He could also lose him, but what good would that do? He quickly reviewed through his options once more time before deciding.  
He started running.  
  
Weiss picked up the receiver and dialled a number.   
"Yes?" came a reply.   
"Something's up."  
"Something's always up…"  
"Yeah, well this one's up there."  
"What do you mean?"  
"There's some sudden movement with Tippin."  
"Come on, people always move."  
"Don't start…we finally got a fix on the SD-6 operative. Unfortunately, so did Tippin."  
"Oh, great. Where's Vaughn?"  
"I booted him out. He looked horrible last night."  
"I can figure that out…"  
"Yeah, well, where is he?"  
"Something about a meeting with Sydney today…she's on another mission."  
"Again? God, talk about timing today. These people…both here and there…are absolutely nuts." Weiss groaned, drinking some coffee before continuing. "Pass him the intel, all right? And also tell him to get his ass back down here ASAP. I need to take care of the other stuff that Valenti said too."  
"Yes, yes, don't get all bitey on me. I'm tell him."  
"Tell me…why do I have a feeling this might wind up ugly?"  
Silence.  
"I don't know, Weiss…you tell me."  
  
"What's my counter mission?"  
In the dimness of the warehouse light, she could still make out Vaughn's perfect features. His gray eyes calmly reflected some inner containment of calmness that she had never seen before. His cheekbones were definitely visible in the dark. His mouth looked so….perfect…she wanted to lean over, forget the mission and kiss him.  
"Well, you are going to give us surveillance of whatever that place actually is," he replied, unaware of what Sydney was actually thinking. He passed her a small, portable camera. "This is the item you are to use to make the pictures. You're also to do exactly whatever Sloane said in regards to setting up the bombs near their encampments and split them up all up.'  
"Force chaos upon them?" she asked with a smile.  
He smiled back nervously. "Kind of."  
Silence.  
"Also, with Nadia's friend out there to sneak some intel…well, you're going to be out of communiqué," he added, slightly sounding like he was apologizing for something. "so your best bet is to reach Nadia's collegue out there after you've finished what you have to do."  
"What will you do afterwards? With the information, I mean?"  
"We'll site the area," he replied in a matter-of-fact voice. "A group of CIA agents will come there at night and take a look around…you sure you have no idea what's up there?" he asked again, a strange look brush past his face.  
"No idea," she replied. "Is that it? I got to leave this afternoon."  
"One more thing, actually…"  
She looked into his eyes again. "Yes?"  
"You be careful out there," he told her simply, taking her hand and just holding it.  
Sydney was touched by the gesture as she tightened her grip around his hand. "You---"  
Suddenly, a cell phone went off. Sydney and Vaughn let go of each other to check their cell phones. Sydney turned to Vaughn when he saw him pick up his phone, walked a short distance and answered his phone.  
"Vaughn."  
"We've got trouble here."  
He didn't have to ask who it was. "What do you mean?"  
"Tippin is on the move…and an SD-6 operative is on his tail."  
"What?!"  
Sydney looked up in surprise.  
"That's right, Unc…we need you back here ASAP. We need an idea on what to do."  
"Did you notify Weiss?"  
"He's the one who told me," she replied, slightly annoyed.  
Vaughn sighed. "Okay, I'm on my way."  
"Right."  
They hung up. Vaughn turned back to Sydney. "I…I have to go," he told her. "Something's come up back at the office and I got to take care of it before Haladki runs up someone's ass with the problem." He shrugged and she smiled. "Look, you just be careful out there. I'll see you when you get back." He then turned around, ready to walk away.  
"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked.  
He turned around. "What?"  
She gave him a look.  
"Oh…" He blushed. "Good luck."  
She grinned.  
  
"And who the hell are you?"  
Nadia looked up from her Uncle's desk to see a man stand at the doorway. He had curly hair and some strange look. Nadia wondered for a moment whether the guy was really a CIA agent or just some janitor. Nobody barges into anyone's room for no reason. Besides, the way he asked her the question made Nadia dislike him right away.  
"Who are you?" she demanded. Two can play that game, she thought.  
"I'm Agent Haladki," he replied with a touch of pride. "Head of the Resource Department."  
"Heh," she remarked in boredom.  
"You didn't answer my question---who are you?"  
She narrowed her eyes at the man's total insolence. He sounded threatening and she didn't like people who were very threatening. Somewhere deep inside of her, she wanted to kick his butt for trying to pick a fight, but then decided against it. I'll do it once I'm officially a field agent. "My name is Nadia," she replied coldly.  
"I'm sorry but civilians aren't allowed here," he just stated.   
"Funny because I thought you were the janitor," she retorted mildly. She could see the colour rise in his face and his eyes widening in such anger. Oooh, I hit him good, she thought in silent victory. She flipped open a leather pouch to reveal an ID. "Just to let you know, I am also in the CIA. So that basically means that I have every right to be here."  
"In a handler's office?"  
"I know the handler," she replied with fake cheerfulness. "Got a problem with that?"  
He took a step forward. "I have a problem…with the handler," he said melodramatically.  
She nodded, leaning on the table. This guy should've been an actor, she though grimly, brushing her hair aside and glared at the agent. She already figured out that this was the agent that wasn't on Vaughn's good side. "Care to explain?" she asked as patiently and as pleasant as she could.   
"No," he replied, "I don't."  
"Fine," she replied, standing up straight. "Be that way. Now get out."  
He laughed. It was like a bark from a pissed off dog. "What?"  
"You heard me," Nadia said evenly, "out."  
He walked in completely, which was opposite from what she had just told him to. This guy doesn't know his directions, she thought grimly as she held her ground firmly. "Let me get this straight with you, little girl," he said in a rather pissed-off manner, "I am higher ranking than you and far more wiser than your naïve age. You don't know scat about this establishment so come back when you do, okay? Now I'm telling you to get out."  
Tough guy, eh? She thought with a hint of annoyance. "You think you're all that, huh?"  
"You damn right about that," he shot back. He didn't make any indication of moving from where he was. "I don't know what kind of kinky relationship you have with Vaughn, but you tell him that his bad-ass act isn't going to get him anywhere in the CIA or anywhere for that matter. And you tell that headstrong and charging oaf to tell all his visitors to wait at the lobby just like everybody else!"  
Nadia walked around the desk and looked at Haladki. The man was slightly taller than she was, even with her heels on (which she rarely wore to begin with). She glared at him straight in the eye and told him, "Now you listen to me, dumbass," she snapped in exasperation. "You are in no position whatsoever to tell me how wise or how much higher in the ladders you are, regardless of age. You have absolutely no idea who I am, so I'll give you a hint."  
"Oh?"  
The next thing Haladki knew, he found himself on the floor on his knees, pain shooting upright from his right knee. He cursed beneath his breath. Nadia leaned over and told him, "I happen to be really good at busting kneecaps. If I ever hear you call my Uncle Mike anything stupid from being an oaf to a dumb ass or worse, your ass will be mine, you hear me?"  
At the same time, the door opened and in came Weiss, ready to speak to Nadia when he saw Haladki on his knees and whimpering at Nadia's pissed off figure. He said nothing and instead stood back and watched.  
"Y-Yeah."  
"Now," Nadia said thinly, "get the hell out of this office."  
Haladki bustled to his feet and headed towards the door, but before he left, he looked back and said in a timid voice, "I'm going to make sure Devlin hears about this!!!"  
Nadia rolled her eyes. "Go ahead! I'm not stopping you!"  
He bustled off, his hand around his knee.  
She rolled her eyes again. "Scumbag," she muttered, then turned to Weiss. "Yeah?"  
He grinned from ear to ear. "Vaughn's here," he said, "down at Ops Three. Say…you did some find ass-kicking right there." He patted Nadia's shoulder. "You're good enough to be my under wing to fight the empire of Scumbags! That who you just whooped major booty is the king of them all, the pain of everyone's asses---Haladki. A.K.A King of the Scumbags."  
"Thanks for telling me that," Nadia said dryly, "now let's go."  
  
"We need to do something about that guy," Vaughn said to Weiss and Nadia in the Ops station. "I thought about stunning the guy with a tranquilizer to throwing him out to the Pacific Ocean. Valenti out there disagrees with every single thing I say. I can't think of anything else. We can't let out agent there warn Tippin out there in the pure daylight because that would alert out SD-6 agent into killing him for sure. Any suggestions, people?"  
"We could kidnap Tippin," Weiss suggested.  
"Eric…"  
"What can I say? It's an option," Weiss replied mildly, "that or put him in the safehouse."  
"He's a reporter, Eric," Vaughn said dryly. "He won't last in that cooped up place forever. And sending him somewhere else is out of the question." Sydney would not approve of not seeing her friend for the rest of time, he added but didn't say it out loud.  
Silence.  
"Say," Weiss said conversationally, "you should've been at your office, man. You missed a good episode back there. Round One; Nadia verses Haladki."  
Nadia glared daggers at Weiss.  
"What?" Vaughn demanded, suddenly intrigued.  
"He was making fun of you, Uncle," Nadia said grudgingly. "Called you an oaf, of all things. And he also made that unconscious threat….agh! He's such a scumbag!" She clenched her jaw and bolted her fists. "Why, I ought to…"  
"Nadia…"  
She blushed.   
Silence.   
Nadia shrugged. "We could knock him out."  
"Who, Haladki?" Weiss asked in sudden enthusiasm.  
"No…that guy following Tippin."  
Vaughn gave her an incredulous look. "That's out of the question…"  
"No, no, not knock out as in eliminate him," she explained. "Someone could go behind him and just knock him out. In the same time, we can sneak some sort of message to Tippin telling him to get the hell out of the city. Just one knock to the head…enough to give the guy a good night sleep for a couple of hours which is, if you add this equation correctly, will give us enough time to get Tippin out of there."  
"Sounds like a plan," Weiss said, obviously agreeing.  
Vaughn considered it. "Who's going to go? Someone's got to cover Tippin at the same time."  
Nadia just grinned at her uncle.  
  
"Everything's going according to plan, sir."  
"Good…good, number one."  
"One problem though, sir…"  
The man thumped his hand angrily on the armrest. "What now?!"  
"Odilia hasn't contacted us since yesterday afternoon…sir."  
"What the hell is going on?" the man yelled. "First Folken…now Odilia…"  
Silence.  
He played with his gold ring. "What are you waiting for, you idiot? Find them!!!"  
  
"Another playmate?" Jason Lee asked. "Aww, Bristow, you're too kind!"  
They were standing behind the dark glass window where the equipment was set up. Yalila McGregor was now sitting across Donovan. Both of them were out cold. Jason was standing beside Jack Bristow, arms folded. Both men also held coffee cups.  
"Mr. Lee," Jack said, "I need her here for the time being until we resolve all this."  
Jason nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," he said dismissively, waving his hand and swigging at the coffee cup. "They aren't going anywhere here…Donovan there has been our overnight resident. Maybe he could…you know…explain to her the rules." He shifted weight between feet. "By the way, do you want Tamakawa to come in and…you know…hypnotize her or something?"  
"No," Jack replied brusquely. "We already got what we needed from her. Sydney used…um, physical force to get her to tell us some things."  
Jason screwed his eyes upward. "Ah, of course," he said. "If only we can do that here as well…unfortunately, we have a policy against that sort of treatment of our…erm, guests like that. Then again, there are times I wish we could just beat the information out of them…it would make our jobs a lot easier. And besides, does it look like we're a medieval torture chamber?" he demanded sarcastically.   
Jack frowned at Jason. "You're babbling."  
Jason sighed, rubbing his eyes with the hilt of his hand. "It's not my fault," he argued, drinking some more coffee. "I've been cooped up here all night…I had no one to talk to. It's only natural that I start babbling uncontrollably…"  
"Maybe you should go see Doctor Barnett," Jack suggested ominously.  
"No!" Jason replied immediately. "I…I don't need help. I just need someone to talk to…aside from Doc Barnett." He gave a disgusted look and drained his coffee cup absently. He then tossed it towards the trash can. It went right in with a soft clamour.  
"Well, I see that you've got things under control here," Jack said. "I'll be going now."   
Jack left before Jason could say anything.  
"This sucks," Jason muttered, "why do I always become last to go?"  
  
Will darted through the busy streets, sweating deliriously. Time had passed by and now the streets of San Francisco were becoming filled with tourists and average people. They looked at him as though he was just a drunk person or some idiot and virtually ignored him. Will was angered that no one decided to take notice.  
What am I going to do? Will thought panicky. I'm being chased by some psycho!  
He slightly turned around. The man was still chasing him. He had a fiercely determined look on his face and got rid of the cigarette. He was also gaining speed between him and Will.   
I hate my life! Will thought angrily as he sped down towards the suburbs.   
  
End of Chapter 


	15. Mission Objective: Prevention

yes, the action is commencing! this is probably the entire climax to the entire thing that i just spun out...hahahahah, yeah, it must suck a bit b/c my mind is waning at 10:50 at night...anyways, here's the next chapter, it's pretty long, but here it is anyways. please R&R!  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
Sydney found herself standing in a quiet town in the outskirts of Whitehorse, Yukon. It was a desolate place with not a lot of trees in sight and what made up the totally fauna in the area was shrubs that stuck to the dry grounds. There wasn't a lot of activity and in Sydney's hiking clothes, she looked and felt out of place.  
Now where is Nadia's contact? She wondered, walking down the town's road. It would help so much if she had given me a photo of this person….could it be possible that Nadia never met her contact before? Oh, this just helps totally. She groaned inwardly and continued to trek about, ignoring the curious stares from the townspeople.  
I'm probably not the first person here, she thought ruefully. This is ridiculous. Where is she?!  
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw someone dart from behind the houses. Sydney continued to walk, not amused, but she was aware of the person darting from house to house. She then turned to see who it was. There was a teenage girl, looking straight at her. She was wearing a cotton dress and her long hair was in a braid. She then gestured Sydney to follow her.  
Sydney cocked her head to one side; who was this kid?  
Then realization hit her; could see be the contact?  
The girl beckoned to her one more time before darting away, away from the houses and all. Sydney quickly made up her mind and followed the girl. The girl was a good deal ahead of her as she made her way behind a couple of boulders standing near a high hill. Sydney quickly crossed the tundra plain, looking left and right if anyone was watching.  
By the time she reached behind the boulder, the girl was scrambling into her pockets. "I am sorry that I didn't greet you properly when you arrived," she said hurriedly, "but I didn't want any of those black men to see me do anything suspicious. They are aware of everything."  
"I see," Sydney replied.  
"Here." The girl pressed something into Sydney's hand. "I'm sure Nadia-sama told you about your countermission. They added this little bit to it---that thing you're holding in your hand is a tracker. You are to find, if you can, the little stash-out that belongs to SD-6 and post this somewhere on the door. The satellite will pick it up and bring the signal to the CIA, where I don't really know what they're going to do." She shrugged. "That's where Nadia's expertise comes in."  
Sydney nodded. "I see…I'll remember that," she replied, pocketing the device in her bag. "How did you get into the trade here? Nadia isn't the kind of person to recruit people like you…I think." She made a face. "And what's your name?"  
The girl laughed. "My name's Anna," she replied. "Nadia isn't the kind of person to recruit people out of nowhere, you're right. I was her internet buddy. We met on this really hype message board and yeah. We met once in the airport in Toronto. We bumped into each other, realized who the other was, hugged, and talked before she had to leave. I help her out occasionally, whenever I could, but as you can see, I try to be as concealed as possible." She shrugged.  
"I see."  
"Wait! Hang on!" Anna dug into her pockets and revealed a box. "This is the bomb you are to use along with the ones that SD-6 issued. When this bomb detonates, it is supposed to leak some sort of field that would enable the satellites to pick it up." She shrugged. "So Nadia says," she added with a rueful smile. "I suck at this stuff."  
Sydney received the box. "I'll remember that."  
"I have to go," she said breathlessly. "I don't want them to suspect."  
Sydney nodded in understanding.  
"Good luck." Anna smiled before darting away.  
Sydney watched her go before straightening her posture. She had work to do.  
  
"Stop pacing," Weiss told Vaughn in the Ops room. He was sitting down with an earpiece, watching the television screen. He had decided to accompany Vaughn in this, supposing that there was nothing better to do. Beside the desk, Vaughn continued to pace, disregarding Weiss's order. Weiss scowled and looked up at Vaughn. "Michael, I'll break both your legs to make you stop."  
Vaughn gave Weiss a glare. "You and I both know you wouldn't hurt a fly even if it was attacking you," he retorted.   
"I have my dark side," Weiss replied proudly. "Seriously, Michael. You're not helping anyone by pacing…except for helping my head get a headache the size of Haladki's ass." Once Vaughn sat down, he sighed heavily. "Gosh, Michael, you are probably the most over-protective man I have ever met. I'd hate to be your kid."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Vaughn asked dryly.  
Weiss shook his head. "You've got two of the people you care the most out there on a mission right now," he pointed out like a teacher to their pupil. "Each, respectively, good at what they do. And here you are, acting like the worried mother." He gave him a wary smile.  
"I am not," Vaughn retorted hotly. But in his mind, he knew that Weiss was right about the way he was acting. It was immature, but he couldn't help it. The woman he had grown to care about, the woman who he knew inside out what out there right now, risking her life to ensure that her world wouldn't crumble. The girl that he had raised like his own daughter was out there saving his own butt from being kicked by a nosy and jealous reporter. He didn't want to lose them both and here he was, feeling helpless about it all.  
Weiss chuckled. "Don't you lie, Mike," he told him. "It's all over your face. I don't blame you…we are the ones sitting comfortably here. But let me tell you, you shouldn't worry yourself into a panic attack. As I said, they're both very good at what they do. I'm sure they'll pull through and they'll both be home before you can say "Damn.""  
Vaughn grinned.  
At the same time, the door flung open to reveal Haladki. Both men turned to see who it was. When Vaughn saw Haladki's idiotic face, he turned around again, minding the monitor. The man was holding some kind of grudge against him and he didn't feel like battling him today. Arguing with that moron was like looking into a blob of putty.  
"Where's that little runt?" Haladki demanded hotly.  
Weiss gave the man a side-glance. "What are you talking about now?" he asked wearily.  
"That girl…Nancy…Norma…Natalia…"  
"You mean Nadia?" Weiss asked, shrugging and casting his eyes heavenward. Despite Weiss's innocent look, Vaughn could see the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "The girl that just wiped the floor with your ass? Oh, she's on a mission right now in San Francisco. Who knows? If she does a good job, she'll be on her way to a full-time agent." He grinned toothily at the agent. "Maybe she'll be your replacement one of these days."  
"Heh, good for her," Haladki said acidly. "But it'll be her first and last mission…I just filed a complaint to Devlin. I just charged her for harassment and assault. That little bitch made my knees ache like hell!" he added angrily, turning red. Weiss could see he was deeply humiliated by a girl that was probably twice his age.  
Vaughn whirled around when Haladki called his niece a bitch. "Hey!" he snapped angrily. "Don't you dare call her anything because you're just describing yourself!" He scowled at the supposed head of resources. He was ready to jump him and pound the living daylights out of him if Weiss didn't intentionally block him from doing so. "And for your information, you try and file a complaint to Devlin about her, you might as well hang yourself."  
Haladki scoffed. "What do you know? You're just trying to scare me!"  
"Am I now?" Vaughn shot back with an angry glare. "Well, if you did your homework, Haladki, you'd know that Nadia's father happens to be a rather important and well-respected man here in the CIA. I think you've heard of Raidon Tomeo." He sat back, arms folded, scowling directly at Haladki.   
Weiss couldn't help smirking like he had just won.  
Haladki turned from red to white. Everyone in the CIA knew of Raidon Tomeo; he was like a walking legend and he was extremely good at what he did. Every intern who started out in the CIA knew who he was and feared him with a passion; he was incredibly strong both physically and mentally and he knew how to channel his thoughts and emotions really well. He was not only feared but also extremely respected. He was also a high-ranking officer in the CIA.  
"Um…well, hahaha, I just remembered…I forgot to do something," Haladki said nervously, scrambling out the door in a rush.  
Weiss and Vaughn started laughing as soon as Haladki had left. It definitely lightened the mood and making Haladki running for his money made them feel rather good. It was victory for them. Vaughn then stopped laughing, but he was still shaking his head at Haladki's infinite stupidity. He sat by the phone, waiting patiently.   
  
"Sounds like a plan."  
Inside Denny's sat Nadia with the CIA agent she was to meet up with named Andre Gotwyski. He was a tall man with a slight accent when he spoke. He was unruly hair and was dressed up in some really dark clothing and a leather jacket. He didn't look like a CIA agent, which made him typical for the mission. They were eating breakfast while he filled her in with what was going on and she filled him in on the plan.   
"Yeah," Nadia said with a cringe. "I just hope it works."  
Gotwyski stabbed at his toast. "I can't believe I lost him back at the pier," he grumbled. He looked as though he was blaming himself for the entire ordeal. Nadia didn't say anything; he was already feeling bad. All they could do now was figure out a way to bring the reporter Tippin into safety without revealing their identities and risking any more trouble. "Where do you think he is?"  
"He's a reporter," she replied, shoving some egg into her mouth and drowning in with cappuccino. "He'd try to blend in and fit into some other character. He'll try to get rid of the guy behind him, if he is capable of doing so. I'm worried that he might get into more trouble than intended…which is why we need to knock out the guy following him." She raised a brow at him. "You think you can handle it?"  
He looked slightly offended. "Of course I can handle it," he replied defiantly.  
She raised her hands, offering peace. "Just making sure," she replied, before finishing her breakfast. "Look, I have to make a quick call to HQ and give them status quo. Just be ready to go when I come back." When he nodded, she got up and walked out of Denny's, pulling out her cell in hand. The sky was clear and the sun was beating down. She quickly dialled the number without thought and waited.   
Someone picked up. "Are you there?"  
"No, I'm up in Toronto…of course I'm here."  
Vaughn noticed the twinge of sarcasm. "Okay, sorry, sorry, geez."  
"Hmph."  
"What's your status quo?"  
"We're just about to commence here."  
"Okay…you be careful out there."  
Nadia smiled shyly. "You know I always am."  
"I'm just reminding you."  
"I know, I know," she replied, pausing. "I'll see you when I get back." She then hung up and stared at the parking lot. A slight breeze came, but it wasn't as refreshing as the ones she got when she was in Canada. She realized she missed Canada and wanted to travel back there sometime. Shaking the memories, she turned around and headed back inside. She had work to do.  
  
She heard ruffling.  
Sydney was standing in the tundra, her feet planted between two shrubs, the GPS unit in one hand and Sloane's note in the other. She had tapped in the coordinates but found herself rather lost. The tall hills stood off to a side and the boulders were she and Anna quickly talked were about 150 meters away from where she was standing. A bunch of trees were directly ahead of her and plains as far as the eye could see were all around her.   
Maybe I read Sloane's note wrong, she wondered. She tapped in the coordinates again. She got a totally different location that made Sydney curse underneath her breath. This was impossible! She thought. I'm getting nowhere with this…maybe I should just walk and maybe I'll stumble across it….  
Then she heard the ruffling.   
She looked around, figuring out where she could hide. She knew that they were coming from the town or the hills and she needed to hide quickly. The tundra plains weren't particularly helping her so her only option was the trees. Making up her mind, she made a dash towards the trees, patting her things to make sure she didn't drop anything.  
The trees were coniferous and she found it easy to hide behind them. She peered to watch who was coming from wherever. Her hand absently went to her belt, where her gun sat, ready for action. Two people appeared from the side, both clad in black. The shorter of the two, a woman, had her dull blonde hair up in a bun while the tall man had his black hair combed back from his face. Both carried military-configured rifles, wore sunglasses and had no emotions on their faces.  
Talk about robots, she thought.  
Sydney suddenly felt the ground shake and she lost her footing. She slid backwards, deeper into the tree area. It was darker there because the top treetops blocked out most of the sun's rays. She tumbled down and slammed upright into something hard. Her head throbbed violently as she fell forward, landing on her stomach on something hard before rolling into a patch of fresh moss.   
She groaned. What the hell just happened there?   
She lay still for a moment, listening to see if they had heard her.   
Nothing.   
She rolled over, straining her eyes in the impending darkness. The light that peeked through the treetops made some familiar objects noticeable as she looked to find where she was. The trees apparently were on some sort of gentle hill and it formed a sort of a bowl shape. She also found a looming object before her from where she thumped her head twice. She got up, forgetting the pain, to see what the object really was.  
It was a door of some sort, slanted on a 50-degree angle and was in a grayish-blue tint. Her hands ran through the leaves and the dirt on the doors and she felt some indents. She traced the indents to reveal a name---SD-6. She sighed in relief and in triumph; this was the safe house that Sloane was so anxious to protect. Now that she was here, she dug into her bag and pulled out the tracker that Anna had given her. Finding a secluded spot, she attached the tracker on. Hopefully the satellites would pick up the position.  
She suddenly heard a click.  
Uh-oh, she thought, slowly turning around.  
  
She found him.  
Nadia was sitting in a café, reading a "The Bear and the Dragon" by Tom Clancy while waiting for Gotwyski to contact her by cell. She had changed into blue flare jeans and a blue t-shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she wore sunglasses to keep the sunrays' glare out of her eyes. A few tables away sat the reporter Tippin, who was in a far more outrageous outfit than her. He wore a really crazy wig with the hair all scruffy. He wore a silky yellow top and white jeans and some really scaly looking shoes. He had gigantic green-lenses sunglasses on his face that totally scared Nadia out.  
Talk about a fashion disaster, she thought distastefully.  
When Gotwyski hadn't called in yet, she closed the book and pulled out a notepad and pen and began to write lazily. I wonder if this mission will prove if I have the guts to be in the CIA, she wondered warily as she continued to write. Gosh, I hope so.   
Her cell rang.  
She immediately scooped it up and answered it. "You there?"  
"Yes."  
"Where?" she asked, looking around.  
"In the alleyway, across the street from where you are."  
"That close?" she squeaked.  
"Yes…the agent is here as well."  
Nadia peered from the corner of her eyes, but through the hustle of people going through and fro the main street, it was hard to tell. And with the traffic and the zoom of the cars coming down the street, she couldn't really pinpoint anyone unusual. "Which one? I see tons of people," she replied, keeping her voice low from the other people.  
"The one leaning on the wall with a cigarette."  
Nadia pretended to look around casually, at the same time taking in the situation. She found the man. He was leaning against a brick building beside the dark alleyway, holding a cigarette and blowing out the smokes on the people who were passing by. Talk about no sense of respect, she thought angrily. I hope Gotwyski kicks this guy's ass bad!!! "I see him," she growled. "You get ready."  
"I'll talk to you later."  
"Good luck." She closed her cell and tucked it away. She watched as the man dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. She watched him dig into his pockets and pull out something that looked like a cell phone. He then walked towards the alleyway, where her associate was already waiting to knock him out cold.   
My turn, she thought, standing up and gathering her things into her bag. She then headed towards where Will sat. His newspaper was pretty much covering his face, but she knew better. She cleared her throat, making him nearly jump five meters in the air. He was visibly shaking in fear for his dear life. Underneath his glasses, she could see his fear reflecting.   
He's not used to it, she realized, which is a shame…in some forms or the other.  
"Mr. Tippin?" she assumed with a faint British accent.  
He looked visibly startled. "How did you…?"  
Nadia raised a hand. He hasn't recognized me, she thought. So my clothes played the part. "I know many things, Mr. Tippin," she said with the faint accent. "I know about your current situation and how you had to resort to such…distasteful things." She gestured to his clothing before leaning over the table, slipping a note on the table towards him. "Follow the instructions carefully. Do not hesitate and do not turn back."  
"But the guy…" he blubbered.  
"…is being taken cared of," she replied ominously, cutting him off. She straightened herself up. "Just follow what is written…and one more thing." She looked down at him, thanking silently that her lenses were dark. She could see that Tippin was rather uncomfortable of how the conversation was going. "Drop the case against Michael Vaughn…you'll only wind up in a morgue."   
Before he could reply, she started to walk away from the café, blending in with the crowd. She couldn't help grinning; it went off rather nicely. The ominous factor and the quick control of the situation…not to mention him not recognizing her were perfect. Mission accomplished, she thought triumphantly. I just hope Sydney's doing fine on her end.  
  
"Who sent you?" the woman demanded harshly.  
The two officers and Sydney were now standing at the plains, meters away from the trees where they had found her. They pulled her away from the trees and were now standing face to face in the brilliant sunlight. The man began a search on her while the woman studied her in an uncomfortable scrutiny. Sydney didn't like her already.  
She didn't reply.  
The woman raised her rifle to Sydney's face. "I said," she gritted, "who the hell are you?"  
The man looked up, finishing his search. With his rifle, he lifted the loop of Sydney's bag. "She's got nineteen explosive charges in here," he told his partner in a monotone. "She also has a handgun, the kind only SD-6 issues and a cell phone, issue unknown and a portable GPS unit. Some personal hygiene materials." He gave a faint shrug at his partner.  
"So SD-6 finally got someone out here," the woman mused, sticking the gun in Sydney's face again with fierce determination. Sydney tried hard not to give the woman a reason to shoot her into oblivion. "Say, pretty, you got to talk sometime otherwise you will wind up with a hole in your head. Trust me, pretty, it'll ruin your entire look."   
Sydney stared calmly into the woman's stormy eyes, not answering.  
The man raised his rifle. "Hey! She asked you a damned question! Answer her!"  
For an answer, Sydney knocked the rifle out of the man's hands with one swift move. She then quickly executed an uppercut, hitting his chin, before he could respond. His eyes rolled back as he crashed onto his back. The woman swung a punch from behind, but Sydney ducked and drove her fist into the woman's belly. The woman gasped, staggering backwards and clutching her belly.   
Sydney heard a yell from behind. She turned around to see the man on his feet again, red with rage and humiliation. She kicked him square on the chest, making him throw back. He didn't fall but charged again towards her. She went on one knee and slammed his belly with her elbow. He groaned and she did another uppercut into his chin, sending him backwards and into unconscious.  
The woman charged again towards Sydney. She groaned in exasperation as she swung a punch at the woman, sending her reeling to the ground. She then grabbed for her handgun and stood over her, gun pointing to the woman's face. Sydney was breathing raggedly, but she didn't care. "Now it's your turn to answer my question," she told the woman. "What the hell are you doing up here?"  
The woman sneered, "I'll never tell you."  
Sydney mocked a disappointed look. "Aww, too bad," she replied in mock disappointment. "I was hoping we'd be friends. I guess this'll have to do." She then used the butt of the gun to knock the woman out cold.  
She quickly grabbed a couple of their things. She pulled off the coat of the woman's and then realized that it was too tight on her. She then went over to the man's unconscious form and stripped him of his coat and pulled it on her. She found a hair elastic from her pocket and pulled her hair up into a tight coil. She then loaded the rifle completely and added some extra ammo into the pockets of the coat.   
She followed the path that she had seen them come in; from the hills. With her newfound things, she made her way, trying to decrease the hump of her bag underneath the oversized black coat. The hill was steeper than she had thought and by the time she reached the top, she was panting from exhaustion of the fight and from climbing.  
What she found was amazing. Below her was a campout with olive green tents ranging around 15 tents and army-style jeeps. Crates of things and stacked near some tents and a fury of controlled activity was maintained throughout the campsite. There was also not a lot of talk going on. Either they're robots like the first two or they're trying to make their presence not known to the town.   
Sydney ushered with the other people, trying to find key areas where she could make a secret drop off of the explosives. The man she bombarded with upper cuts back on the plain was not joking when he mentioned the explosives. Some unknown weapons specialists that only Sloane knew specially designed the bombs for this kind of mission. They were very effective from what she heard but this was the first time she was going to see them in action.  
She started planting them when no one was looking or paying attention. She hid them under the parked army jeeps, near craters and other things that were standing in a side, in the most peculiar places. She tried to avoid proximity near the tents as much as possible as she already hid half of her stock. She was relieved to get rid of them; she felt like a walking bomb the entire time.   
At the same time, she tried to gather information about this group of people. As far as she can tell, they only called themselves the "MSS" and were determined to find SD-6's stash of whatever. She wanted to go back and check out what it was, but there was no time. She would have to return for it after she was finished dealing with these people. If she learned anything else about these people, it was that they weren't exactly the most social people they had ever met.   
Finally, she was down to the bomb that has Anna had given her. It was different from the other bombs that Marshall had given to her. It was a silver-like colour and she could feel the tiny indents on the side that read CIA on it. It was relatively lighter than the SD-6 issued ones but she knew that this little thing packed a punch.   
She was headed towards some crates to plant the last one when she heard someone approach.  
"Do I know you?"  
Sydney scrambled on the sunglasses from the pocket of the formless coat she was wearing and slowly turned around, trying to hide her features shyly. "Yes?"  
There was a tall man in front of her with slick hair and wearing sunglasses. He had a stern gaze that seemed to penetrate through the sunglasses and his mouth was twisted in some sort of a scowl. Sydney felt a sense of authority from this man and it didn't feel that good. "I do not recognize you," he said in a stern and commanding voice. "What is your name?"  
"Corrigan," she blurted out. "Leslie Corrigan."  
The man nodded. "I see," he said slowly. "A very intriguing name, really. Why, I knew someone from home named Leslie…pretty girl." He leaned over and said in a low voice, "I am in charge of not only this place, officer, but also in charge of the roster. And I memorize those names on the list. You see, officer…there is no Leslie Corrigan." He raised a gun and pointed it towards Sydney. "So the question now is; who the hell are you?"  
Sydney did not answer. Instead, she pulled the chain of the CIA bomb and threw it. It landed on a worktable scattered with various work equipment. The bomb went off in a surprising clamour and the smoke was not exactly the gray you'd see. The man she was talking to looked what she just did and she swung an axe kick, making him drop the gun. She then kicked him on the chest hard, sending him backwards.   
She then started to run. The other officers took notice of her now and grabbed their rifles, chasing after her. Sydney had a head start and started sprinting towards a narrow exit between the trees and the huge hill. She began to run through her options on what to do as she heard the shouts and threats being made behind her.   
Think, Sydney, think.  
She was now on the field, running for her life. Her hands were on her gun and her bag, running away from the crazy people behind her. Luckily they haven't fired yet, she thought in slight relief, her hand digging into her bag. What was she going to do? She usually had an escape plan in mind…but this time she didn't know what to do.  
I'm going to die, her irrational side panicked. I'm going to die in the flat place!  
Then her hand came across the box where the CIA bomb that Anna had given sat. Her fingers felt a crumpling of paper. She pulled it out and stared at it as she ran. It was a map! On the back was a quick scrawl: "Sydney. Here's the escape route just in case you run into trouble. See you in L.A. -Nads"  
That smart girl! She thought. She gave me an escape route! She quickly memorized what she had to follow and folded up the paper. From behind, she could hear the firing of bullets and the thumps it made on the ground near her feet. Dammit! She thought as she sped up. Trees were lined up to her right and she desperately tried to find the escape route that Nadia had left.  
Then she saw it.   
At the edge of the trees sat a parked Rav 4, black. Sydney turned to see a huge gap between her and her pursuers and she leapt into the driver's seat of the car. The keys were already in set and she revved up the engines. She then began to turn and drove at full speed towards the men and women who were initially after her.  
Take that! She thought as she made them start running away from her at full speed. She could hear their cursing and their gasping for air. Heh, I'm making them run for their money this time, she thought. They were running back towards their encampment when she struggled into her bag and lifted a small handy device Marshall had given her. She flicked the lid open to reveal a shiny red button.  
Here comes the fireworks, she thought as she pressed the button.  
An explosion rocked behind the hills and smoke and fire rose behind them. The officers gasped and stopped, looking at what Sydney had just done. Sydney stopped pursuing them and swerved around and headed back to an open road near the town.  
Mission accomplished. 


	16. Crossroads and Distant Futures

here's the second last chapter! finally pulling together the final strings here...hope you guys like it! ^_~  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
"Good job, Sydney," Sloane said.   
He was sitting in his desk, his hands folded neatly together like he always did. Despite the fact he sounded pleased, he never really showed it to Sydney. He simply gave her a calm look with those probing eyes and a simple gesture of appreciation. Sydney, who standing in front of his desk, felt sick to her stomach at his appreciation.   
An image of Danny's dead body appeared in her mind. "Thank you."  
He looked slightly guilty. You should, she thought bitterly, trying to keep her composure. Sloane cleared his throat, indicating that he wasn't done speaking yet. "I know you went through a lot of trouble for this…"  
"It wasn't a problem," Sydney said in a clipped tone.   
"I know…but I want you to know…I am grateful for this," Sloane said, gesturing around.  
Sydney nodded, stiffly, deciding to switch the topic before she threw up. "How are the computers?"  
Sloane shrugged casually. "Marshall has it completely under control," he replied. "With help from your father, they were able to completely patch up the little bastard. I also had Marshall and the other techs re-design our mainframe to prevent this from happening ever again." He paused, looking rather distant for a moment. His eyes hardened and Sydney knew he was angry about the entire situation.   
"I'm sure Marshall will enjoy the challenge," Sydney said mildly.  
Sloane smiled slightly. "He always does," he replied quietly. "There is one casualty though."  
Sydney raised her brows.  
"We never found Yalila McGregor," he said, void of any emotion. Sydney felt a chill run down her spine as he continued. "I mean…she never signed in but her car is still parked in our parking lot upstairs." He stroked his prickly beard. "I'm worried…I am suspicious at whether this has anything to do with the sudden attacks to our network and to our safe house up there."  
Sydney shrugged. "Could be, I don't really know."  
Sloane nodded in some silent understanding. "I already have some people on it," he said, his eyes growing warm again. "Take a day off, Sydney. You deserve it."  
Sydney gloated at him for a brief moment.   
"Thank you."  
Sydney then pivoted on her heel and left.  
Sloane sighed, leaning his head back to rest his neck muscles. Speaking of which, he wanted a vacation himself. He wanted to go home and spend time with his cancer-ridden wife and read and do normal things. Unfortunately, work wasn't about to left him off the hook yet. He sighed, still musing his beard. I must finish my work here.  
Someone knocked at his door.  
"Come in," he called. It's probably Jack, he thought.  
The door opened and a man stepped in. He had grayish hair and a salt-and-pepper sprinkled goatee. He had stormy blue-gray eyes and wore a rich-looking suit. His skin was perfectly tanned although he had revealing lines around his mouth and eyes. He grinned at Sloane peculiarly, revealing a set of pearly-white teeth. "Hello, Arvin," he said in a rich voice.   
Sloane got up and clapped the shoulder of the newcomer. "Timothy," he greeted with a smile of his own. "It's good to see you again." He gestured to a seat before his desk with a slight giddiness to his attitude. "Please…do take a seat."  
"Why, thank you, Arvin," he replied, taking a seat. Sloane resumed his position at his seat. Timothy looked around. "Very nice…I see you've been dealing with some interior design." He grinned again at Sloane. "Well, I haven't seen you since that meeting a while back with the Alliance---hectic stuff, you left in a rush."  
"I had things to do back here," Sloane replied, "you know how it's like."  
Timothy sighed. "Unfortunately," he said with a groan. His face grew serious. "Anyways, I heard you had a little trouble here a while back with someone trying to bring down your network and tried to assassinate one of your agents." He shifted positions in the chair. "I dropped by to make sure you were doing all right."  
Sloane's muscles stiffened. "How did you know I was having difficulties here?"  
Timothy shrugged casually and too innocently in Sloane's point of view. "You know me, Arvin," he said casually. "I have my sources." He leaned over, his blue-gray eyes levelling on Sloane's. "You are doing okay…right?"  
"Yes," Sloane clipped, "everything's under control."  
Timothy nodded. "That's good…you haven't lost your touch, I see," he commented, musing his own goatee before breaking into another grin. "The Alliance should look into these things more carefully. You never know who'll pop up in your front door with a knife behind their backs." When Sloane looked at him peculiarly, Timothy broke into an uproar of laughter. "Arvin, Arvin, Arvin, you ought to check your humour factor out."  
Sloane gave his friend a woozy grin. "I am rather tired."  
Timothy leaned over the table again. "Look, Arvin," he said in a low tone, "if you ever need any help or assistance, you know you can count on me."  
"I know."  
Timothy grinned again, playing with the gold ring that sat on his finger absently.  
  
"Back so soon? What happened?" Francie asked over the phone.  
"It's a long story," Will replied hotly, ruffling his papers around. He had just arrived last night but he was so exhausted from running all of San Francisco the day before, he just collapsed onto his bed and fell fast asleep. He decided to go to work instead of staying home and unpacking when he decided to call Sydney's place. Instead of Sydney, Francie picked up.  
Just my luck, he thought bitterly.  
"I have the time," Francie said in a determined tone.  
Will shook his head in annoyance. "I need to talk to Sydney…ASAP."  
Francie scoffed. "Oh, all right, but you have to tell me the story afterwards, okay?"  
"All right already." Anything to give the phone to Sydney, he added.  
There was a pause on the phone. Holding it on his shoulder, Will pulled out some files and sighed. Jenny was still in San Francisco and knew that when she came back, she would want to quit the job or something. He sighed, rearranging the files. I might as well put up the signs again and search for a new assistant, he thought ruefully.  
Someone picked up. "Yes?"  
"Hey, it's me."  
"Oh…hey, Will," Sydney replied. Her voice sounded exhausted. Another one of those damnable business trips, he supposed. "How was your vacation in San Francisco? I heard you suddenly came back," she added.   
"Oh, it's a long story."  
"That's what you told Francie, Will."  
Will couldn't help smiling. It always happened every time Sydney was around. He always considered it to be a vibe from her to him. "Um, say, I wanted to apologize about what happened the day before…I was being a total jerk," he said, cringing. He couldn't help feeling guilty up until now. "It…it was stupid of me to do it."  
"No, it's all right…I understand."  
"Look, Sydney, I'm very happy for you," he said dryly, plucking at the stack of new papers distastefully. Gosh, how he hated saying these words! "For you and that guy…um…Michael. It's good to see you up and about and if you're happy, then I'm happy too." No, I want to cry! His insides were screaming. I want to scream and cry and beg for you to go out with me!  
Silence.  
Oh my gosh….did I just do another stupid thing? Will wondered, suddenly concerned.  
"Thank you, Will," she finally said.   
Will smiled slightly, trying hard to keep his act together.  
"I have to go now," she said, "I'll see you over sometime."  
"Of course."  
'Okay…bye." She then hung up.  
Will placed the receiver back down before he threw the stack of papers at the window. God, he felt like throwing up at the words he just said. He felt dizzy, he felt sick. A part of him was very happy for Sydney, that she was finally moving on into the dating world after the death of Danny, but a part of him wanted to be in that Michael guy's position. He wanted to be the receiver of her kisses and her love.   
He felt like a complete wreck.  
His eyes fell onto the corner of his desk, where his suitcase was propped up. Despite the mess of his books and papers, he noticed one thing only---the note that the mysterious person gave her. He felt himself colour; what was up with all the women in his life? Ever since Danny's death, Sydney was more into her work and was rarely around. Francie was still perceptive about his feelings for Sydney and constantly teased. Jenny was simply possessive of him and eyed him in a way that made Will feel like someone's dinner. And that mysterious girl that helped him yesterday just saved his ass from whoever was after him.  
The entire thing made his head hurt.   
I need a beer, he thought. Or some really strong liquor…  
The telephone rang.   
Will lifted the telephone. "This is Will Tippin."  
"Hi! Can you do an article on flying underwear?" It sounded like a young girl in the other end.  
Will scowled in abrupt annoyance. "What the hell?"  
"You heard me," the girl replied indignantly, "flying underwear!"  
Will leaned forward, looking around. What was going on? He wondered. He already had three women who seem to bombard him with their personalities and now here was another. "Who the hell am I speaking to here?" he demanded gruffly.  
The girl scoffed at the other end. "This is your neighbour who saw you throw your briefs out of the window a few days ago," she replied sardonically. A burst of mortification ran through Will's face as he felt his face heat up. He totally forgot about that incident! His face deepened in red when the girl added, "Your undies made my grandmother faint!"  
Will cursed silently in his mind. This week will never end, he groaned.  
But the girl wasn't finished yet with his humiliating act. "You can name the article 'Flying Underwear: How it can cause heart attacks'," she said loudly. "Heck, you'd get a lot of responses…you'd be famous from here all the way to China!"  
"Just go away and leave me alone!" Will shouted into the receiver to make her shut up.  
The girl snickered into the receiver, relatively unfazed at Will's snappish behaviour. Will wondered what did it have to take to shut this girl up. "Must I show evidence of your deed?" she asked him rather innocently. She then snickered again as she said into the receiver, "My, my, Calvin Klein briefs? Don't you wear boxers?"  
Will hung up, mortified from head to toe.  
  
"So what are they going to do with them now?" Nadia asked.  
Nadia, Jason and Jack were standing in the sound room in the basement. Behind the silent glass window was the desk once again with Donovan and Yalila handcuffed to their chairs. They were facing each other and were dead silent. Behind them, near the doors, stood two security agents, staring at the captives non-chillingly.  
"Devlin plans to ship them to Langley," Jack replied quietly, staring ahead. His voice remained cool and collected and Nadia silently wondered how he did that. Frankly, she found him intimidating a few days ago, but after hearing of what he did, she found a new respect for the man. "From there, I don't really know what they'll do."  
"Maybe put them in a protection program," Jason suggested with a shrug. "Or send them to jail for obstruction of some law or for just being the enemy." He gave Jack a nervous glance, which gave away the fact that he wasn't too sure about it. "Then again," he added quickly, "I was recruited into the more technical stuff so I'm not sure about the whole political issue here."  
Nadia nodded.  
Jason smiled warily at her. "Welcome to the spy world," he said in an ironic manner.  
"Considered that you are prepared to go through with this," Jack added cautiously. He looked at the young girl and wondered how Sydney was like when she was first recruited. Sloane had told him how she was eager with her new job. Jack had not seen Sydney for much for a long time so he had no idea how she was when she entered SD-6. Could she be acting like this? Jack wondered.  
No. By the way the girl watched the two political prisoners in the other room, he knew that Sydney would not be as calm as this girl was. Sydney would have been ecstatic at the thought of having adventure. This girl didn't look ecstatic but she didn't look that aggravated at the thought of such a responsibility. This girl didn't seem to have much of an expression. That, he thought warily, or she does the exact technique that I do---hide my emotions.   
Surely this must be a daughter of some federal agent, he thought.   
"Actually," Nadia said, her voice not as grave as before, "Devlin said I passed."  
Jason blinked. "Passed?"  
"The mission I just attended to was kind of like an evaluation," she explained calmly. Jack could see that she was playing with the tail of her plaid shirt. Intriguing. "Devlin and a bunch of other seniors and other ops officers, including Vaughn and Weiss, did some grading without really knowing it. Devlin decided that I had what it takes to be an agent."  
"So, you're in?" Jason asked, still looked stupefied.   
"Why didn't you go through the other requirements?" Jack wanted to know. "The CIA doesn't just evaluate and pull people out at random." He paused. "Except for the walk-ins like Sydney but I don't really understand…You may have ties to Agent Vaughn but that isn't enough to make a cut of some sort. There are protocols."  
"Which I am aware of, Mr. Bristow," Nadia replied curtly, turning to face him with a sardonic look on her face. "I don't exactly know what are the exact rules in regards to applying to the CIA, but my ties certainly come in with Agent Vaughn, whom I have been submitting concrete intel for the past few years. If that's not enough, my father also happens to be in the CIA."  
So I was right, Jack thought. "What is his name?"  
Nadia gave Jack a faint but cryptic smile that took Jack aback. Nadia headed towards the door with her backpack slung over her back. She stopped and turned back to Jack. Their eyes met and for a brief moment, Nadia looked just like any other girl her age. "Agent Raidon Tomeo," she replied. "I think you know who he is. He worked with you a few years back."  
Jack frowned as Nadia left. How did she know that? Jack wondered, watching her retreating back. As Jason muttered some pardon before leaving the room, Jack allowed himself to smile a bit. Ahh, I remember, he thought. Raidon told me about his little girl. Smart girl. A pang of grief sparked his heart as he was suddenly reminded of Sydney.  
Feeling desolate of the guilt, he too left the room.  
In the hallway, Nadia continued to walk towards the elevator. Jack's questions made her wonder about her place in the CIA. Devlin had offered her the spot and she gladly took it. After all, she had worked rather hard to get the spot. Sure, they were still going to sharpen some of her skills to make sure, but otherwise, she was fit for the job. After her talk with Jack, she wasn't so sure. Do I have the right to even be here? She asked herself.  
"Nadia!"  
She whirled around to see Jason Lee run up to her. He was running at a mild pace due to his suit and tie flying all over the place. He was wearing a pair of small-lenses glasses today. When he caught up, he was gasping for breath. She watched him, trying hard not to show her amusement. "Gosh, you walk really fast," he wheezed. "God, you can kill an old man like that."  
"Who said you were old?" she teased mildly.  
Jason grinned as he caught his breath. "Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you," he told her, "about the promotion I mean." He then looked at her more closely, which made Nadia curl up inside in embarrassment. She hated being studied in scrutinizing detail but Jason made it not annoying but discomforting. Huh? She wondered. "Are you all right?"  
"Oh, yeah," she replied, laughing it off. "The entire gig, you know, it's just really…whoa."  
"Yeah, that was me when I first came here," Jason replied as she walked with her to the elevator. "But you get used to it, you know." They stood by the elevator shaft until it opened. Nadia walked in first, followed by Jason. "You just have to act cool, let them know you're not a newbie of any sort. Just don't piss any of the hotshots off. And particularly avoid the head of resource department Haladki…"  
"Haladki?" she cried. "That scumbag is a department head?!"  
Jason looked at her, his glasses dropping down his nose. "I take it you met him."  
"Yeah, and busted his chops in the process."  
He grinned widely. "Yeah, well, half of the people in this building wants to kick his squirmy little ass all the way to Russia," he continued, "but no one can actually do it because the fact that we're all part of the same family. Once that you're in the game, I don't think you'll be able to kick his butt again---unless of course, you do it the legal way."  
Nadia groaned. "I'll try to remember that."  
Jason laughed.  
The elevator door opened to the rotunda of the CIA headquarters, where people were walking in and out of the building. Nadia turned back to Jason. "Well, this is the end of my ride," she replied with an inward sigh. Frankly, she didn't want to leave yet. She wanted to stay and talk to this rather down-to-earth agent. "Thanks for what you said and you know…being nice to me. With my wary personality, I think I'll be taking a while to make some acquaintances here."  
"No problem," he replied casually. "Think of it as high school or college."  
Nadia scrunched her nose. "Been there, done that, here once again."  
He smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder. His face grew serious. "Look," he said in a serious tone, "if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just come to talk to me." He shrugged and smiled again. "Besides, it's not like I got anything better to do."  
Nadia laughed and stepped out of the elevator. "I'll see you around?"  
"Yeah," he replied with a nod. He then watched her smile and walk out of the building.  
  
"Thank goodness you came back safely," Vaughn said.  
Sydney and Vaughn where standing in the warehouse once again. When Sydney entered the warehouse following her strange conversation with Will, the CIA had phoned her house, typically asking for "Joey's Pizza." Francie was puzzled of Sydney leaving and she drove all the way to the warehouse, looking forward for her meeting. To her disbelief and affection, Vaughn had greeted her with a hug.  
Sydney couldn't help blushing. Thank God it's dark, she thought.   
"Yeah," she said in a low voice to hide the trembling. "It was crazy up there."  
"So I heard," he said, releasing his hold on her much to her body's protest. He then sat down on a chair and gestured for Sydney to do the same. "Well, thanks to you planting the bomb in with the other bombs, we had a rather good time pinpointing who our little friends are." He pulled out some statistics and handed it to her. "From what intel Nadia and some other intel agents can acquire, the group is called the MSS, dubbed as the Military Secret Service."  
"Talk about rip-off," Sydney commented.  
He shrugged. "Yeah, their job is basically gather intel from other diplomats and any competition organizations," he continued, brushing his unruly hair back. "And, if there is a threat of some sort, they take it out immediately, regardless of anything. We sort of had a little encounter with them during a mission in the Urals of Russia a few years ago over stolen tech. Crazy."  
"I can imagine. Go on."  
Vaughn nodded. "We also did a little research in regards to that is funding them," he said. "If our intel is correct, then the man in charge of MSS is part of the Alliance. We know he owns some corporate and has militaristic background and ties." He smiled wryly. "I guess Nadia truly is correct about this one this time around. I have to ask her sometime about how she gets it right."  
"So he really is an Alliance member?" Sydney asked, looking up. "So Sloane knows him?"  
"Or her," Vaughn added with a wink. "Yes, Sloane probably knows this mysterious leader, but he probably doesn't know which one."  
Sydney couldn't help breaking into a smile. He looked so cute winking like that! "Which means that Sloane truly has an enemy in the Alliance," she concurred. She then closed the file and handed it back to her. "I wonder why he really is after him…He was really aggravated when he found out that we were being plotted in some twisted plot. He wouldn't say, but he looked pissed. And when he's angry, he's going to crave for blood. In my humble experience, of course."  
"We could ask you father," Vaughn said, "but I don't think he'd tell him anyways." He sighed. "You guys done enough already in regards to the MSS. We have a section out searching for these guys. And with our two people down at HQ, we might be able to get some more information out of them. Until then, this deal is wrapped." He sighed. "As for the safe house…"  
"I never got to it," Sydney replied. "I was being chased."  
Vaughn nodded. "We're going to get some covert men out there to check it out through the tracker you laid out," he said, leaning back on his chair and loosening his tie slightly. "Don't worry, these men are trained professionals. Hopefully, SD-6 didn't have any twisted and nasty security devices up and about in the place. Otherwise, this won't be a repeat of what happened in Badenweiler."  
Silence.  
Sydney suddenly remembered the complex exploding under Dixon's second trigger. She remembered how Dixon was telling her to go but she couldn't move. The dreadful feeling began to creep up her shoulders again and she forced the memories out of her mind. I've paid the price, she told herself severely.   
Vaughn sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. Sydney could see the faint bags underneath his pale eyes and could tell that he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I think it's because Nadia and I were both on a mission at the same time, she supposed with a twinge of regret. "Don't worry, take it easy. You've been under a lot of stress lately."  
Sydney smiled wearily. "Thanks," she replied, waving her hand dismissively at the subject. "I am worn out from all of this." She then looked at Vaughn closely, blinking at his stark complexion. She never noticed how powerful his gaze was that it made a sudden chill run down her spine. "Speaking of which, you should take a break yourself. You look like you haven't slept properly in days," she added with an edge of concern in her voice.   
"I haven't," he admitted softly.   
Silence.  
"So," Sydney and Vaughn said in unison. They then looked at each other and turned away.  
"You first," Vaughn croaked.  
"No, it's okay, you can go first," Sydney replied dryly.   
"No, I insist."  
She sighed. Stop beating around the bush, she told herself. Someone's got to start the ball going. "So," she said in a feeble tone, "where do we go from here?"  
Vaughn glanced at Sydney for a brief moment before turning away again. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I…For the first time in my life, I have never been so happy and so relatively confused." He turned to face Sydney now. She had never seen his face so raw with emotion in all the time she had known him. Again, his powerful gaze made her shiver. "I've always somehow been able to think ahead, to figure out what to do. But this time…I don't know. I feel like I'm at crossroads, but I don't know where to turn."  
"It's like trying to balance out which way to go," Sydney said softly, "but they're so even."  
"You know I want to see you," he said softly as well, as though he was ashamed to say to. "I want to be able to look at you straight in public, not as a stranger. I want that so much. But then I am reminded of who I am, what I represent." He sighed, putting his hands on his face before looking back at her, smiling. "As you can see, the choices are rather…bad."  
Sydney smiled, reaching over and taking his hand. Vaughn was reminded of the pier scene when Sydney was upset because Jack didn't appear for dinner. The same tingle ran down his spine as before, only this time, in the dark of the warehouse, it was even stronger. "We'll think of something," she said in a supportive tone. "It'll come out all right."  
Vaughn just stared into Sydney's eyes as she leaned over and kissed him. Breaking away, he said, "You know that we can't keep this a secret forever. They're going to eventually find out." When he said 'they', he meant the CIA, SD-6 and Sydney's friends. For a moment, he was worried not for his life, but for Sydney's.   
This was a huge risk.   
As if reading his mind, she replied in a dreamy-like voice, "It's a risk I'm willing to take." 


	17. Beginnings and Endings

i think you recognize this format from the beginning...i thought it was appropriate to end it this way so here it is. hope you guys enjoyed this fic...please R&R! ^_~ don't worry, i'll be back with a new fic (once i get my brains together, that is!) thanks to all the people who submitted reviews...you guys are the greatest!   
::gives an e-hug to everyone::  
^_~   
  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
"Hello?"  
"Bout bloody time."  
"I was at a meeting, Nads, you know that."  
"Oh yeah, probably getting something going on in the warehouse, huh?"  
"What the hell are you talking about now?"  
"Unc, I know about you and Syd. I walked in on you guys, remember?"  
"How could I forget?"  
"Don't worry, it's all right. Besides, I think Syd's a pretty hype chick, you know." Pause. "It's okay, I'm not going to yap, if you're worried about that."  
"You better not."  
"Geez, I keep my word, you know. I'm not irresponsible or anything."  
"I'm just saying."  
"I may not blab but I think you're threading dangerous lines here."  
"What else is new?"  
Sigh. "Anyways, I'm in."  
"So I hear…think you can handle it?"  
"Unc, if someone like scumball can get into the CIA, chances are I can too. And I will."  
"True, true…Did you talk to your father yet?"  
"No. I haven't heard from him for a while."  
"You ought to. I think he's at Langley right now…it would help. He'd be proud of you."  
"Hmph. Proud enough not to be around for a long time…"  
"He's been…"  
"…busy, yeah, I know that much."  
Sigh.  
"Look, I'll see you later at my place, okay? We'll buy pizza and celebrate."  
"Sure, but I choose the topping. You want a latte? I got one right now and…"  
"Nads…"  
"Okay, okay, geez."  
"I'll see you later, Nads."  
"Later, Unc."  
  
  
End of "The Acts of the Bold" 


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